Laura Soldner

Professor
B.S., M.S.,University of Wisconsin-Madison
lsoldner@nmu.edu

Teaching Specialties

• Composition and reading pedagogy
• Adult learning styles and strategies
• Freshman seminar and retention issues

Laura Soldner, serves as the English Department’s Director of Composition.  She instructs and supervises 35 teaching assistants and chairs several committees in the department.  

Laura’s specialties are in composition and reading pedagogy.  She has been department's developmental reading and learning specialist since 1987. Her post-secondary background includes graduate, undergraduate, and community college teaching as well as middle school, high school, and high school completion experience. She holds degrees in Secondary Education English, Curriculum and Instruction with an Emphasis in Reading, as well as Reading Specialist licensure.

Across campus, Laura is also well-known for her advocacy of freshmen success. She currently serves on the Developmental Education Advisory Committee.  Laura was also NMU's original Director for the First Year Experience (FYE) Program from its inception in 1995 until her return to the classroom in 1998. The program's impact on student retention as well as performance has been featured in national publications such as The Freshman Year Experience Newsletter and Exploring the Evidence: Reporting the Outcomes of First-Year Seminars. Laura was nominated for and was a finalist for the national award recognizing first-year student advocates in 1999, and was awarded NMU’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2005.  In 2010, Laura was chosen for the Outstanding Commitment to the Field of Reading and Study Skills Award given by the College Literacy and Learning Special Interest Group of the International Reading Association.

Laura has co-authored, Communication Counts: Getting It Right in College and Life, in 2008 with Allyn and Bacon. Her latest research focuses on the role of reflection in metacognition and strategies to enhance freshmen success and retention. Her most recent articles have been published in International Journal of the Humanities; The Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory, and Practice; and Journal of College Literacy and Learning.