Dinah is Professor of English at Principia College. She is a practicing fiction writer and poet, art critic, and independent curator with an extensive publication record. A contributing editor for Art Papers Magazine, she is also faculty advisor for Principia College’s online literary magazine, Mistake House. She holds the MFA in creative writing from the University of Virginia. Through her professional experience, Dinah links creative writing, visual art, and contemporary culture. She has a background in modernist and postmodernist critical theory and practice, as well as a strong knowledge of Central and Eastern European writers. A recreational runner, Dinah competes in races from the 10K distance to half marathons. She looks forward to running the 12K Nature Run in Liberec, CZ in the fall 2019 Prague Abroad, along with several students. She recently completed 200-hour yoga teacher certification.
Paul is Professor of Art at Principia College and Professor Emeritus of Art at Mary Baldwin University in Virginia. With the MFA in painting from Virginia Commonwealth University, he is a practicing painter with an extensive national exhibition record whose work can be seen at www.paulryanstudio.com. His work is represented by Reynolds Gallery in Virginia. Paul is also an art critic and curator, who has been publishing art criticism since 1989 and has been a contributing editor for Art Papers Magazine since 1990. Profoundly engaged with issues of modernism and postmodernism, their impact on the contemporary, and the uses of the arts in culture, he has been dedicated in his teaching career, as Dinah has been, to sharing the vitality and practical importance of the arts with students. The Fall 2019 Prague Abroad is Dinah and Paul’s sixth study abroad to Prague and the Czech Republic for both Principia College and Mary Baldwin University.
Connie is the Resident Counselor for the Prague Abroad. Connie’s first experience as a Resident Counselor began in 1980 with the women of Clara McNabb House. Through the years, she and her husband (Gary) have lived and worked with students in Rackham, Buck, Howard, Gehner, and Sylvester House. On the St. Louis Campus, Connie was the P.E. Coordinator for 7th through 12th grades and coached tennis, track, and racquetball. She loves that perfect blending of individual and group dynamics. Connie has a B.A. from Principia College and is a class taught Christian Scientist. She chose to be a French major because she loves to travel and loves other cultures. She currently resides in Buena Vista, CO.