Ellen Hansen, Special to The Denisonian–

Dr. Vanessa Plumly is the newest Visiting Associate Professor in Denison’s German Department. 

The department saw the retirement of beloved Professor Emeriti, Dr. Gary Baker at the end of last semester and the transfer of Visiting Associate Professor, Dr. David Bolter, who is now teaching in Berlin.

She grew up in southern Ohio before receiving her bachelor’s in German and history at Bethany College in West Virginia. 

During her time there she studied abroad in Heidelberg, a city in southwest Germany. 

“I fell in love with the city and met a lot of really awesome people,” she said. She is still in contact with many of the people she met there today. 

After graduating she spent a year in Kiel, Germany, participating in the Fulbright Program as an English teaching assistant. 

Afterwards, she received her master’s from the University of Kentucky and her Ph.D. at the University of Cincinnati. 

She was required to take German in middle school by her school which was planning to end their German program due to low enrollment, but it has since turned into both a lifelong passion and career. 

“My history of German is pretty much a history of cancelling programs,” she said. 

She explained how the previous university she taught at, Wittenberg University, canceled all of their language courses due to financial issues, leaving her without a job.

Wittenberg University is in Springfield, Ohio, which has also faced its fair share of struggle in the recent past. Before the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump made false claims that the Haitian immigrants living in Springfield were eating their neighbors’ pets during his campaign. This caused the school to shut down for a week due to threats they were receiving.

Her favorite thing about teaching students German is “seeing them grow.”

 “That journey is really incredible to observe as a professor,” she said. 

“You also have the opportunity to see their growth in different ways. It’s not just the language, it’s in who they are as humans or their interests or what they want to do with their lives.”

Plumly is currently teaching all levels of German. She is also in the process of getting student interest to begin a German Club on campus.

“She’s super enthusiastic about the language and she explains things very clearly in a way that makes a lot of sense,” said Miranda Louis ‘28, a student in Plumly’s intensive German grammar class.

Louis enjoys how Plumly connects with students on a level beyond lecturing on the language.

“She relates to students a lot and has activities that are really fun for us to do and bring us together more as a class,” she said.

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