Frances Dolan Retires After 23 Years at UC Davis

After years of exceptional teaching, mentorship, and scholarship at UC Davis, Distinguished Professor Frances E. Dolan reflects on the moments and people that shaped her time on campus. From classrooms and archives to home-cooked brunches and poetry-inspired gifts, her journey reveals a deep commitment to student learning, community building, and early-modern British literature.

When asked to name the highlights of her time at UC Davis, Professor Dolan pointed not first to her own awards—though she received both the Distinguished Teaching Award and the UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement—but to the community that made those moments so meaningful.

“The gala for the UC Davis Prize, attended by some of my current and former students at that time, was definitely a highlight,” she said. “I was grateful that I could use that spotlight to focus attention on Special Collections at the Library and the Student Pantry, both places on campus to which I’m deeply committed.”

She approached teaching not only as instruction but as an experience to be shared. When she taught the Honors Seminar, she hosted a brunch for over 70 students and their families on graduation day. She also organized overnight field trips to Shakespeare Santa Cruz. “I guess I aged out of crazy schemes like catering events myself,” she said, “but I’m grateful to all of those students and colleagues who supported and participated in my various plots over the years.”

One particularly cherished memory is from Winter Quarter 2020. The students in her undergraduate seminar, “Consuming Empire,” surprised her with a bouquet of flowers inspired by a seventeenth-century poem and other treats tied to the course content. “They gave me a peak moment of connection as I was about to be isolated—as well as sunflower seeds to plant during that time!” she said. “I am still in touch with some of that amazing group and still grateful to remember so much joy.”

Above all else, Professor Dolan emphasized the meaning she has found in student growth and success. To her, student achievements supersede her own (numerous) professional successes. Her proudest moments include seeing Laurel Carney win the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research and Jumana Esau receive the Gates Cambridge Fellowship. But she was equally moved by the non-accolade triumphs of students. There were moments they confided in her just how much they were doing to continue pursuing their studies, such as when a student explained how many hours they work to make college possible or when she simply observed someone open up or take more risks. She attempted to remained attuned to her students’ journeys both in and outside of the classroom.

Her dedication to mentorship continued through doctoral advising, with her final three dissertation students -- Yasmine Hachimi, Ashley Sarpong, and Breanne Weber -- earning special mention. “They were so much fun to work with and have done so well that they’ve allowed me to feel I finished with a bang,” she said.

When she began at UC Davis, Professor Dolan was new to the world of large lectures, having taken only one herself. Working with teaching assistants was also a new experience. She admitted to working hard to understand the large classroom format, considering how to integrate media to support her lectures. Over time, she realized that while she gained comfort in the use of media, she worried she was losing her skill at what she called “the heart of our enterprise”: discussion. One of her most transformative shifts in recent years was letting go of the front of the room.

“The most important change I’ve made in recent years was as much stopping as starting. In smaller classes, I started leaving discussion starting to students, who on their own initiative began not just to jump start discussions but to run them start to finish. I worked on biting my tongue and taking notes.” The result was a richer, more collaborative classroom. “If anything, it’s more work because I never know what will happen and I have to be 100% tuned in as I listen, take notes, and think about ways to connect and build on what students say, when to weigh in and when to hold back. Taking notes on what students say and trying to mirror that back to them and model how to listen and engage has been a revelation, as has witnessing how good students are at leading discussions and how sensitive they are to supporting their colleagues.”

Asked how students have changed over the last two decades, she praised their diversity and depth. She noted how rewarding it is to share with them the pleasures of literature, along with watching as they come to their own conclusions while overcoming uncertainties and generative mistakes. But she was aware of the new challenges they face. “It has gotten harder for students to concentrate because of the many distractions and pulls on their attention,” she said, citing the shift to digital textbooks as one complicating factor. “So teachers need to do everything they can to pull students into class—taking attendance, learning names, and giving points for attendance all help—and engaging and focusing attention once they are there.”

Still, she believed the English classroom remains a vital space.

“When class is engaging, students want to be there. The opportunity to read carefully and engage robustly with that reading and with one another is as enticing and grounding as it has ever been, perhaps more so. I feel what we do has never been more important.”

As she steps away from her formal duties, Professor Dolan looks forward to rediscovering the very joys that first brought her to literature.

“I look forward to relaxing back into the person who became an English major in the first place—reading ‘promiscuously,’ as John Milton put it… I’m thinking about other ways, too, to support causes I care about.  Time seems like the greatest luxury and I plan to indulge in having it to wallow in.” She plans to garden, travel, cook, dance, and spend time with her loved ones. And she will still be around. “You’ll see me at the farmers’ market, in the arboretum, and reading picture books to kids on Picnic Day.”