After visiting Columbus for a weekend with her sorority, Delta Zeta, many years ago, Debra Moddelmog promised herself she would never live there.

These days, Moddelmog is not only living in Columbus but is a professor of English at Ohio State and has fully embraced the Buckeye culture.

“I thought I would only be (in Columbus) for three to four years,” Moddelmog said. “I thought it would be easier to start at a large school.”

But after those few years, Moddelmog realized she loved the university and its large and supportive research atmosphere.

However, the professor claims she will always be a “Southern girl.”

The oldest of three children, Moddelmog was born in Wichita, Kan. Throughout her childhood, she moved frequently until her family settled in Atlanta, Ga., when she was 9.

After receiving her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Georgia Southern University, Moddelmog took time off to try her skills outside academia. She quickly realized, however, that she wanted to go back to school. Moddelmog then decided to pursue her master’s degree in English at Auburn University and eventually her doctorate in English at Pennsylvania State University.

While working on her master’s, Moddelmog said, “I lived in an apartment without heating and filled with cockroaches. If I was ever in the shower and the neighbor flushed the toilet, I was in trouble.”

One of the fondest memories Moddelmog has once she became a professor was of her father and mother, her biggest supporters.

“My father read everything I wrote, which was pretty surprising because some of it was pretty out there,” Moddelmog said as she adjusted her black-rimmed rectangular glasses with a sad smile. Her father passed away a year ago; the loss was still evident in her face.

After establishing herself at OSU, Moddelmog realized there was still much she could offer students. Her determination was the impetus behind the creation of the undergraduate minor and graduate interdisciplinary studies degrees in sexuality studies in 2002.

Moddelmog said she hopes the sexualities studies program will eventually draw students from all disciplines. This goal reached one of Moddelmog’s current students, Carley Kranstuber, a fourth-year in political science who declared the minor in 2009.

“I felt that understanding current issues with discrimination and sexuality would tie in well with my major once I apply to law school,” Kranstuber said.

She also said how influential Moddelmog’s teaching and support had been throughout her minor coursework.

Not only is Moddelmog widely recognized among students and faculty for her promotion of diversity, but she is also internationally known for her research on Ernest Hemingway.

“Just go to the library homepage and search her name. She is a world-famous scholar,” said professor Linda Mizejewski, a faculty member at OSU and Moddelmog’s friend of 18 years.

Moddelmog’s research has allowed her to travel all over the world.

Her travels are mainly with The Hemingway Society, a worldwide foundation established in 1965 by Ernest Hemingway’s widow, Mary Hemingway.

After several widely praised articles Moddelmog authored, she continued to attend the biannual conference, first as a member and later as a chair of the foundation.

In Moddelmog’s office, sitting among books and articles, several of them her own, are the pictures of her beloved pets.

“If I had a second career, I would be a dog trainer,” Moddelmog said as she showed pictures of her two rescued dogs, Whiley and Alvin. Mizejewski said Moddelmog walks or plays with her dogs in her free time — when she gets any.

“The other amazing thing about Debra is how committed and passionate she is. I have never met anyone who is such a committed paper grader,” Mizejewski said laughing.

Moddelmog said she spends about 30 minutes reading each student’s paper, which quickly adds up in a class of 40 students.

“I love to teach and to help people with their writing. People have done that for me, too, and I think you cannot do writing in isolation,” Moddelmog said. “I feel my whole goal in life is to become a more compassionate person.”