Ann Batenburg
Education:
- PhD University of Iowa
- M.A. Northern Park University
- B.S. M.S. Northern Illinois University
Biography:
Professor Batenburg was born in a suburb of Detroit, but she has lived most of her life near Chicago. She chose Salem because she wanted to be able to focus on teaching and helping her students, and the small class size at Salem has allowed her to do that.
She believes that the subtle assumptions and expectations born in the minds of the young women who attend a woman’s college are its greatest strengths. Because there are only women attending, it is only women in positions of leadership and power. Women comprise the entire participating body of any organization at Salem, so everyone learns to see women in many different roles. Because of this, everyone begins to assume, if they didn’t already, that women can do anything and should be in leadership roles.
Professor Batenburg’s main research interest is gifted education. On campus, she is currently advising first year students through the Salem Signature program and she is the faculty advisor for Kappa Delta Pi, an education honors society.
For students contemplating entering into the education discipline, she would encourage you to spend some time in classrooms. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County schools have a volunteer program. She would advise you that being a teacher is vastly different from anything you may have experienced or thought about when you attended school. It is a challenging and rewarding field, so it is best to gain some experience before making the decision to become a teacher. However, the benefit for students choosing an education major is that they become teachers, which, in her opinion, is the best job in the world!
Professor Batenburg is a Harry Potter fan, and she believes that life is not complete until you’ve read those books. Reading books and watching movies are her favorite things to do when she’s not working. Her favorite past time on a winter day is to sit in front of a whole television series on Netflix. She’s always up for a Law & Order marathon, or anything from the BBC, like Luther, Sherlock Holmes or Five Days.
