Undergraduate Advising
Undergraduate Advisor: Dr. Karen Redfield
Office: 7195E Helen C. White Hall
E-mail: advisor@english.wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 263-3760
Fax: (608) 263-3709
Career Advisor: Karen Knipschild
Office: 7195 Helen C. White Hall
E-mail: kknipsch@wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 262-7836
Scheduling an Academic Advising Appointment
Both enrolled and prospective English majors can book a 20-minute advising appointment using WiscCal (requires NetID log-in).Ask a Quick Question
Have a question that can be answered in a few lines? Feel free to e-mail Karen. Please be sure to mail from your current wisc.edu e-mail address and include your campus ID number at the bottom of the message.Meet the Undergraduate Advisor
I'm originally from Rochester, NY, and did my BA and MA at state universities there. I also had a great year abroad, at the University of Nottingham, England. I've lived in Madison for many years now. Before I became the Undergraduate English advisor in December of 2011, I taught college writing and literature classes, most recently at MATC. I received my Ph.D. from this English Department and the Program in Composition and Rhetoric, with a minor in English Linguistics. My area of specialization was American Indian rhetoric and literature. I focused on both college student writers and the history of published writers, both fiction and non-fiction, in English. Outside of work, my interests include music and traveling, among other things.
I feel very lucky to have had a diverse, challenging, and rewarding teaching career. I have taught in the city of Madison, in the state of New York, and the country of Bolivia. I have held classes in universities, two- and four-year colleges, including a tribal college, homeless shelters, public libraries, factories, and a medium-security prison. I now feel very lucky to be able to share my genuine passion for language, literature, teaching, and writing with you, our undergraduate majors. I look forward to getting to know more of our majors as the years go on.
Meet the Career Advisor
As the Career Advisor for the Departments of English, Philosophy, and Comparative Literature, I help a variety of students in the humanities find their niche, whether through internships or longer-term careers. I have been working in student services for almost eleven years, and the work has allowed me to match dedicated, successful students with meaningful career opportunities. Prior to coming here, I served as the Assistant Director of the Short Course Program in the College of Ag & Life Sciences, where I advised students in all areas of their academic progress, raised enrollment by 40% through statewide recruitment, and taught the program’s English Composition class. I have been the recipient of a Friend of Short Course Award from the Farm & Industry Alumni Board, a Special State Citation from the Wisconsin Association of Agricultural Education (WAAE), an Honorary State FFA Degree, and an Ag Advocate Award from the Sigma Alpha National Sorority.
I’m a UW alum with degrees in Journalism and Continuing & Vocation Education, which I put to use as a technical writer and as a producer and host for the Ideas Network at Wisconsin Public Radio. I’m also a fourth generation descendant of the Knipschild family of Monroe, Wisconsin, though I currently live here in Madison.