Hosted by the Department of English, the Ofstad Visiting Scholar Program is available thanks to the profound generosity and vision of Odessa Ofstad in creating Truman’s first-ever endowed chair. Odessa worked at Truman from 1967-1993. During her career, she served as the cataloger, head cataloger, music and curriculum librarian, archivist and special collections librarian. She retired as Special Collections Librarian Emerita. Her husband, Clayton B. Ofstad, joined the Language and Literature Department at Truman in 1967, where he taught until his retirement in 1987. He passed away in 1994.

The Ofstad Visiting Scholar Program brings renowned guest writers and scholars from across the country to the Truman campus to teach a highly personalized, intensive course. During their stay, these talented scholars wield their academic expertise to craft courses and public lectures at the intersection of linguistics, English, creative writing, and the wide world of academia. Ofstad scholars are paid through the university as visiting instructors and come for either short visits (usually 1-2 weeks) or for an entire block (7-8 weeks), depending on what their schedules allow. The goal of the Ofstad program is to bring interdisciplinary topics to the forefront, for interdisciplinary education is the heart of liberal arts schools like Truman State. That said, interdisciplinary topics are only as richly varied as the people willing to engage with this program.  

Contact Us

Email: ofstad@truman.edu