PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State University Professor of English
Louise Schleiner died Feb. 22 at Davis, Calif.
Schleiner received her doctorate from Brown University in 1973, and was hired
by WSU in 1984. She was promoted to associate professor in 1987, and to full
professor in 1994. She was named the department of English’s first Buchanan
Distinguished Professor in 1997 in honor of her distinguished record of
scholarship and teaching. She died after a lengthy struggle with ovarian
cancer.
An authority on 16th-century British literature, Schleiner was known for her
new interpretations of major writers of the English Renaissance and her
discovery of forgotten women writers of the period. She was also known for
the unusual depth and inclusiveness of her classroom instruction and her
leadership in revising the curriculum to include more literary theory.
Schleiner is survived by her husband, Winfried, of Davis, Calif., and three
daughters. Her colleagues and former students recognize that the faculty
member was a pillar in the department and will be sorely missed. She thought
of the department as a community, and her presence helped make it so.
A memorial mass will be held at noon March 6 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church
in Pullman. The Rev. Edgar Borchardt will officiate.
A memorial service at WSU will be held at 4:10 p.m. April 7 in Avery Hall’s
Bundy Reading Room. Memorial gifts may be sent to the WSU Department of
English Language and Literature Fund, in care of the WSU Foundation,
earmarked for Louise Schleiner graduate student awards.
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