Faculty and Staff

Pat Austin

Professor Emeritus and Curator of the Children's Literature Collection

Ph.D. Curriculum & Instruction, University of New Orleans
M.A.T. Elementary Education, University of New Hampshire
B.A. Philosophy, Agnes Scott College

Author of more than forty articles in educational journals and hundreds of book reviews, Patricia Austin’s other publication credits include Tales from a Teaching Life: Vignettes in Verse (UNO Press, 2023), Elephant of Sadness, Butterfly of Joy (SusanShadtPress, 2023), illustrated by Megan Elizabeth Baratta, and The Cat Who Loved Mozart (Holiday House, 2001), illustrated by Henri Sorenson. Her research interests include trends and issues in literature, creative processes of authors and illustrators, and classroom practices. Her twenty years of classroom teaching spans second through eighth grades and covers the gamut from self-contained to reading specialist to gifted education. A former editor of the Journal of Children's Literature, she has also served on the Notable Books for Language Arts Committee, the Americas Award Committee, and has been the children's book review columnist for the Louisiana reading journal for ten years. She frequently presented at the International Reading Association, National Council of Teachers of English, regional conferences, as well as local in-service workshops for teachers and librarians. One of her all-time favorite activities is reading to children.

Volunteers

To staff the Children's Literature Collection for at least 25 hours a week, the UNO Young Adult and Children's Library is dependent on volunteers. If you like books, are self-motivated, enjoy working with people, or need service hours, please consider volunteering for a 2-3 hour block at least once a week throughout the semester.

Contact paustin@uno.edu if you are interested in being a volunteer.