Dr. Jill Peláez Baumgaertner retired from her role as Dean of Humanities and Theological Studies and Professor of English after 37 years of faithful service to Wheaton College in 2017.

In her role as a teaching faculty member before she became dean, she taught courses in Shakespeare, Renaissance Lit, Seventeenth Century, Flannery O’Connor, Poetry Writing, Creative Writing, and Senior Seminar.  She was a fully active member in the English Department, meeting with students, encouraging young writers, and giving lectures off-campus on Flannery O’Connor.  She advised Kodon, coordinated the literary writing contest, helped to design and host our annual Writing and Literature Conference.  She directed our Wheaton-in-England Program on several occasions.  Within the broader college, she served as Vice-Chair of the Faculty.

She also was and is an active scholar and poet, publishing refereed books and articles on Flannery O’Connor and John Donne and continuing to write and publish poetry.  She writes reviews, gives lectures, does poetry readings, and has had some of her poetry set to music and performed.  She also served as President of the Conference on Christianity and Literature during her tenure as dean.