Pembroke Center

Jean E. Howard is a scholar of early modern literature, modern drama, feminist studies, and American prison literature. Retired on June 30, 2023, she taught at Columbia University's Department of English and Comparative Literature since 1987 and before that at Syracuse University. She is the author of six books, including the prize-winning Theater of a City: London Comedy 1598-1642 and is a general editor of The Norton Shakespeare. A proud Brown alumna, she has served on the Brown Corporation as a Trustee and has been active on the Pembroke Council for three decades. At Columbia her administrative posts included serving as the university's inaugural Vice Provost for Diversity. She now regularly teaches in Columbia's Prison Education program.

Howard earned an A.B. in English from Brown University.