Paula is a Professor of English in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UNC Charlotte. Her research interests include film as well as issues of diversity in children's literature. Her book, Slavery in American Children’s Literature, 1790-2010, published by the University of Iowa Press, explores the development of racial imagery in children's literature.
In addition, Paula has published numerous articles, serves on the editorial board of two journals, and has obtained external funding to support her research including having been a Caleb Loring, Jr. Fellow at the Boston Athenӕum and a Visiting Scholar at the American Antiquarian Society. In all of that work, the J. Murrey Atkins Library has been a priceless resource. Paula received her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and has been a happy Charlotte resident for over two decades.