A native of Laurens, South Carolina, H. Collin Messer earned his B.A. in English Literature from Emory University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where his training and research focused on 20th-century American literature and the literature of the American South.  From 2006-2022 Collin taught American literature and humanities at Grove City College.  During his time at Grove City, he took on increasing levels of administrative responsibility, from chairing the English department to serving as Assistant Dean in the College’s Calderwood School of Arts and Letters.

Collin and his wife, Elizabeth, have been married for 27 years.  Together they have been blessed with three children, Camille (Covenant College ’21), Grace, and Mac.