Remembering Lillian Bridwell-Bowles

Former English Professor Lillian Bridwell-Bowles died in Louisiana on June 24 at age 76. She was a department faculty member from 1981 to 2004, when she was hired by Louisiana State University to create what is now a nationally recognized Communication Across the Curriculum program. “She had a tremendous range of learning that she brought into her role as a professor here,” says Professor Emeritus Edward M. Griffin, “especially in teaching her students to write effectively.”

A scholar of race, class, and gender in writing instruction, Bridwell-Bowles was highly involved in writing instruction program and pedagogy leadership at the University of Minnesota. She served as co-director of the Minnesota Writing Project, which she co-founded. Like its parent organization, the National Writing Project, the MWP is a collaborative of teachers from kindergarten up dedicated to improving the teaching of writing. In honor of this important work, Bridwell-Bowles received the University’s 2002 Outstanding Community Service Award, among the U’s most prestigious awards for faculty and staff. MWP Co-director Muriel Thompson, in her nomination, wrote, “Lillian is committed to improving the writing of all students, strengthening University and school collaboration, and increasing the professional power and preparation of classroom teachers.”

Bridwell-Bowles also served as director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of Writing (CISW) and as leader of the minor in Literacy & Rhetorical Studies. In 2001, she hosted “New Literacies for a New Millenium: Forging University/Community Partnerships,” a CISW colloquium featuring Rubin “Hurricane” Carter.

Student appreciation for the passion and thoughtfulness Bridwell-Bowles brought to the classroom resulted in a Morse-Alumni Association Award, the University’s top award for undergraduate instruction. 

Bridwell-Bowles was also a scholar of feminist rhetoric. She published several books, including Identity Matters: Rhetorics of Difference (1997). Professor Emerita Toni McNaron remembers Bridwell-Bowles’ support and advocacy in the establishment of feminist literary studies within the department. “But my special memory of Lily has to do with her being Southern and a cook,” says McNaron. “She knew what I knew—northerners can't make a decent biscuit because they don't use biscuit flour. Every time she went back to Louisiana, she brought home a big bag of that magic ingredient and gave me some.”

Born and raised in Florida, Bridwell-Bowles received her PhD from the University of Georgia. When, in the early 2000s, the University of Minnesota proposed moving composition out of the Department of English to a new Department of Writing Studies, she advocated to stop the initiative, recalls Professor Julie Schumacher; the move was ultimately approved. In 2004, Bridwell-Bowles departed for Louisiana State University. 

At LSU, besides her work with the Communication Across the Curriculum program, she taught rhetoric, writing and culture, and women's gender studies. Following her retirement as professor emerita in 2017, she turned her garage into an art studio, where she worked as a sculptor and potter. She became president of the Baton Rouge Art League in 2024.

Professor Bridwell-Bowles is survived by husband Rick Bowles; son Joel Bridwell; her grandchildren; and a brother. The Department of English offers deepest condolences to her family, friends, and colleagues.