Jody Swilky, a poet and researcher in the fields of writing studies and educational reform, has taught at Drake University since 1988. His publications are in the fields of immigration studies and writing studies. In 2007, he won the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival's highest award in the category of professional documentary for A Little Salsa on the Prairie: The Changing Character of Perry, Iowa, which he wrote and co-produced. He graduated from the State University of New York at Albany and the University of Iowa. Other areas of expertise include literary criticism and language theory.