Amanda Haertling Thein is Associate Provost for Graduate and Professional Education and Dean of the Graduate College, as well as a professor of Language, Literacy, and Culture in the College of Education. Her research focuses on socio-cultural and socio-emotional aspects of literary response; critical approaches to multicultural literature instruction; and the intersection of critical youth studies and young adult literature. She is co-editor of English Teaching: Practice & Critique, a member of the Conference of English Education’s Executive Committee, and co-founder and co-director of Strong Girls Read Strong Books—an afterschool book club program focused on engaging young girls in literature with strong female protagonists.