Staff
Marjorie Rubright
Director
Marjorie Rubright joined the University of Massachusetts Amherst English faculty in 2017. Prior to her arrival, she was Associate Professor of English at the University of Toronto. Her areas of research and teaching specialization include: early modern English literature and culture, early modern race and ethnicity studies, feminist criticism, Renaissance lexical culture, and critical approaches to the study of the global Renaissance.
Joseph Black
Associate Director
Joseph Black received his PhD from the University of Toronto and joined the English Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2004. His research and teaching interests include seventeenth-century literature, Milton, the Sidney family, the epic tradition, and book history. His major current projects include the Complete Works of Thomas Nashe and Private Libraries in Renaissance England.
Jeffrey Goodhind
Librarian
Jeffrey Goodhind holds a BA in History from Bard College and an MA in Library Science (Archives and Records Management) from Simmons College. As the librarian, Jeff is responsible for maintaining the Center's library, archiving scholarly papers, developing digital collections, assisting patrons with research, and answering reference questions.
Ellen Carroll-McLane
Office Manager
Ellen Carroll-McLane is responsible for working with the Director and the Librarian to organize the Center's public events. Her duties include the role of Program Director in which she coordinates events and concerts including the annual Renaissance Festival. Ellen also builds close relationships with the UMass Facilities team, the Grounds Department, and the Historical Gardens Consultant to maintain the Renaissance Center, the Dakin Barn, and the surrounding grounds.
Liz Fox, PhD
Interim Arts & Academic Programs Coordinator
Liz Fox was awarded a University Sustainability, Innovation, & Engagement Fund Grant for her environmental humanities project: 'Digging the Past.' She is the Walter T. Chmielewski Editorial Fellow for English Literary Renaissance. She received her PhD in English Literature from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her book project, ‘Sophisticating Comedy: Global Exchange on the Jacobean Stage’ examines how theater reflected and participated in the hybridizing effects of the early modern global economy. Liz teaches Shakespeare at Wesleyan University’s Center for Prison Education, Intro to Literature for Bard College’s Clemente Course in the Humanities (Springfield), and a range of courses for Bay Path University’s American Women’s College. Her research and teaching interests include early modern drama and culture, early modern economic networks, material culture, and transnational approaches to Renaissance studies.
