Saul Allen

I teach in the Honors program because reading things closely, listening to others, and building shared understandings is both important and fun for me. I am a preceptor in the Honors College alongside my primary role in the Office of Research Development. In that other capacity I work with faculty, staff, and students to develop competitive projects and secure funding for their research programs. Before joining the University of Maine, I worked as a fundraiser for a Domestic Violence Resource Center, as part of the founding team of a healthcare startup based in Michigan and California, as a freelance grant writer, as an instructor for volunteer crisis counselors and occasionally as a lecturer in my academic field of study.

My doctoral degree – in Asian Studies – was anchored to disciplinary training in anthropology and history. In the course of my graduate work I conducted field research in Indonesia several times, including as a Fulbright Scholar, and completed archival research in the Netherlands. Central to that education was the careful consideration of texts, read alongside peers and mentors. This continued the educational journey I was fortunate enough to begin as an undergraduate, taking part in a sequence of study similar to the Honors College curriculum.

The questions that animate the Honors College are enduring, and I enjoy learning from the fresh voices each new cohort of students brings to their study.