Rate My Professor Suzanne Halaburda

Suzanne Halaburda is the Director of First-Year Writing and a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric & Digital Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She holds an M.A. in English, Education and a B.A. in Middle Grades Education, both from Appalachian State University. Halaburda teaches core First-Year Writing courses, including UWRT 1103 and UWRT 1104: Writing and Inquiry in Academic Contexts I and II, as well as CTCM 2530: Critical Thinking & Communication—The (un)Happy Pig: The Rhetoric of Farm Animal Activism. Her academic interests encompass Composition Theory and Pedagogy, Inquiry-Guided Learning, Student-Centered Classrooms, Portfolio Assessment, and Animal Studies. These interests inform her approach to developing foundational writing skills for undergraduate students, emphasizing critical thinking and effective communication in academic and rhetorical contexts.

Halaburda's career at UNC Charlotte spans over fifteen years, beginning as an Adjunct Instructor from 2008 to 2011, advancing to Lecturer from 2011 to 2017, and Senior Lecturer since 2017. She assumed the role of Director of First-Year Writing in 2024. Throughout her tenure, she has taken on key administrative responsibilities, including Co-Chair of the Public Events Committee since Spring 2019, Co-Coordinator of the Writing Resources Center from Summer 2013 to Summer 2014, and Chair of the Faculty Development Committee during Summer 2012 to Spring 2013 and Spring 2015 to Spring 2016. Prior to her current institution, she served as an Adjunct Instructor at Central Piedmont Community College from 2008 to 2011, Grade 8 Language Arts Teacher at Piedmont Middle School in 2010-2011, Adjunct Instructor from 2007 to 2008, and Teaching Assistant from 2006 to 2007 at Appalachian State University. Additionally, she represents the Department of Writing, Rhetoric & Digital Studies on the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) through 2028. Her contributions extend to departmental initiatives such as the First-Year Writing Awards program, where her students have been recognized.