Dr. Eden Wales Freedman

Previously, Eden was associate professor of English and founding director of diversity studies at Mount Mercy University, where she also served as Dr. Thomas R. Feld Chair for Teaching Excellence and Deputy Title IX Coordinator. She is AtIXa trained in Title IX and Civil Rights investigation and coordination. Eden has worked as an educator at violence prevention centers and as a victim’s advocate for sexual assault response teams. She regularly publishes and lectures on how we can respond to one another across differences and in times of crisis. Her book, Reading Testimony, Witnessing Trauma: Confronting Race, Gender, and Violence in American Literature (UP Mississippi 2020) was awarded the Eudora Welty Prize for contributing a new approach to understanding literature and culture, especially through the experiences of women of color. Because of her advocacy for women and children of color, Eden was a finalist for the 2016 United State of Women’s White House Summit Award and 2018 Big of the Year through Big Brothers Big Sisters. In 2017, she was named Woman of the Year by the Women’s Equality Coalition.