Expert Insights in Literacy and Writing
Transforming academic writing through research and practice.
About Nancy Nelson
Professor Emeritus
After a long and rewarding career in higher education, Nancy is Professor Emeritus at Louisiana State University and also at University of North Texas. From 1994 to 2005 she was at LSU as Professor of Education and Elena and Albert LeBlanc Endowed Professor. Since leaving LSU, Nancy served as Professor and Department Chair at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi from 2005 to 2009 and then Department Chair and Meadows Endowed Chair for Excellence in Education at the University of North Texas from 2009 to May 2019.
Writing & Research
Nancy's research has focused on literacy processes and practices, and she is probably best known for her research in academic writing, especially source-based writing. Some work, including the book The Constructivist Metaphor, was published under the name Nancy Nelson Spivey. At the universities mentioned above and also at Carnegie Mellon and the College of William and Mary, She taught courses in Theoretical Foundations, Traditions of Inquiry, Global Educational Issues, Issues in English Language Arts, Academic Writing, and Learning Theory.
International Keynote Speaker
Nancy has benefitted tremendously from involvement in international initiatives. Her activities have included keynotes at conferences in Italy, Norway, and Mexico and seminars that she led in Costa Rica, New Zealand, Norway, and Spain. Nancy has been privileged to sponsor scholars from Mexico, Turkey, and India; to host lecturers from Australia, China, Kazakhstan, and Mexico; to direct research of students from South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia; and to be liaison for a partnership with the Secretariat of Education of Jalisco, Mexico. When concluding ten years at UNT, she was honored with the Citation for Distinguished Service to International Education. Nancy will continue her international collaborations as she moves to other academic “homes.”