Charlotte Gleason has been teaching in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences since 2007 and became the chair of the humanities department in 2021. Her education started at Cairn’s Wisconsin Wilderness Campus, and she later moved to the Langhorne campus to earn a BS in Bible and a BS in Education. She also holds a Master of Liberal Studies from Fort Hays State University.
Since you were a student here, what changes have you seen that you are excited about, especially for your son who is starting his first year of college here?
There’s a lot more variety as far as what students can pursue with a biblical foundation. I know I nerd out on the art program and things like that, but it’s just really exciting for me to see a Christian university that’s really committed to the arts. I think that’s unique and just a really good testimony to the world.
What is your favorite course to teach at Cairn?
I love teaching Shakespeare, which caught me a little off guard. I think I like the challenge. And you could talk about every subject under the sun. The other courses that really surprised me were the creative writing courses. I just fell in love with them. I thought I would always favor formal writing, and I still feel really passionate about that and see the meaning of that. But the community and the culture that can be built in a creative writing course, there’s a greatness to it. There’s something really worshipful about these creative minds creating, being the image bearers that we are.
Why did you decide to return to Cairn to teach?
I started as a public school teacher in Northern New York, and after having my first child, I wanted the flexibility of higher education, so I entered the adjunct world. Dr. Williams and Dr. Marti MacCullough were both very influential in my husband and I coming back here. I loved teaching, so I wanted to scratch that itch for sure, but I also wanted to make sure that I could be present with my children in the way that I wanted to be. So this was just a really great opportunity to do that.
When you’re not planning out curriculum, what are your hobbies?
I would say most of my hobbies are anything outside. I am currently training for a half marathon. I’m kind of a nerd with exercise and fitness; I think it’s really interesting. I also have a garden. I have a love-hate relationship with my garden. I go through these crazed weeding times where I just weed like a maniac and think about the curse in Genesis the whole time and how there will not be weeds in heaven. But I do like, in theory, gardening. My newest thing is paddleboarding. Oh, my goodness, it’s so cool. My daughter really wanted to do it. We have a place in New York with access to a lake, so our whole family just started doing it together.