
Deborah L Hodgkins (She/Her/Hers)
Professor of English
- Department: College of Arts and Sciences, English, Learning Commons
- Campus Address: 210 South Hall
- Phone: (207) 768-9423
- Email: deborah.hodgkins@maine.edu
Education
B.A., College of the Holy Cross, 1987
M.A., University of Pittsburgh, 1989
Ph.D., University of New Hampshire, 1998

Lea Knudsen Allen
Associate Professor of English
- Department: College of Arts and Sciences, English
- Campus Address: 208 South Hall
- Phone: (207) 768-9521
- Email: lea.allen@maine.edu
Education
B.A., University of Maine at Presque Isle, 2000
Ph.D., Brown University, 2008

Jacquelyn Lowman
Professor, Professional Communication and Journalism
- Department: College of Arts and Sciences, English, Professional Communication
- Campus Address: 114 Pullen Hall
- Phone: (207) 768-9745
- Email: jacquelyn.lowman@maine.edu
Education
B.A., Connecticut College, 1993
M.A., University of Chicago, 1997
Ph.D., Michigan State University, 2004Bio
Jacqui Lowman has been a professional communicator since her adolescent years. She has worked in a broad array of venues, from commercial publishing and journalism to academe. The one area that she loves even more than communicating is teaching and guiding others to do so: to help them realize their communication gifts. As founder of and chief instructor in the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s professional communication and journalism program, she has ample opportunity to do just that. The program specializes in marketing, branding and advocacy. The beautiful rural surroundings foster resilient, creative people.
In 2014, Jacqui, inspired by her students and their needs, started a nonprofit called BEYOND LIMITS: Awaken Your Potential. Among its guiding principles are that challenge is an opportunity, it’s all about the journey, and that there is no such thing as “can’t.” With creativity, perseverance, love, the right team, we can transcend anything. One mantra is: “The difficult we do right away. The impossible takes a little longer.”
After many adventures, In the summer of 2019, Jacqui and her service dog Saint hit the road in Miracle, their accessible van. They drove 16,000 miles across the U.S. to Washington State and back to Maine through Canada, spreading the BEYOND LIMITS’ messages and assessing accessibility. In August 2019, Jacqui and Saint went way BEYOND LIMITS by welcoming a new member of their team: Dusty, another service dog. BEYOND LIMITS is planning further adventures.
Areas of Expertise
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Accessibility Social Justice Advocacy
Community Involvement
- Founder, President, BEYOND LIMITS: Awaken Your Potential
- Speaker, Maine Humanities Council, Part of Library Programs Initiative
Scholarly Activities
- Lowman, Jacquelyn A. “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Communication.” In SAGE Business Skills Inc., 2021

Richard Zuras
Professor of English and Creative Writing
- Department: College of Arts and Sciences, English
- Campus Address: 317 South Hall
- Phone: (207) 768-9403
- Email: richard.zuras@maine.edu
Education
B.A., George Mason University, 1990
M.A., M.F.A., McNesse State University, 1998