Shannon Dobranski has been an educator at Georgia Tech since 1996. She is currently the Director of Specialized Advising, overseeing a team of professionals who support students and alumni pursuing graduate school, health professional school, a change of major, or prestigious fellowships.  

Shannon earned her Ph.D. in English literature at the University of Texas (hook-em!) in her hometown of Austin. Her field of study was Shakespeare, and her dissertation focused on absent fathers in Shakespeare’s middle comedies. As a faculty member at Georgia Tech, her teaching and research focused on Shakespeare, Shakespearean adaptations, adaptation studies more generally, and short fiction. 

After serving as a Brittain Fellow in Georgia Tech’s School of Literature, Media, and Communication, Shannon took on the role of Undergraduate Coordinator for that school and was subsequently promoted to Associate Director of Undergraduate studies. In that role, she oversaw the day-to-day management of two degree programs: Science, Technology, and Culture and Computational Media. She also coordinated several study abroad opportunities, including exchange programs with universities in Sweden and Denmark as well as a faculty-led program in Italy.

Since 2013, Shannon has worked in Georgia Tech’s Office of Undergraduate Education, where she has served as the Director of the Center for Academic Success, the Director of Pre-Graduate and Pre-Professional Advising, the Faculty Director of the First-Year Semester Abroad program in Oxford, Deputy Director of Academic Success and Advising, and Director of Specialized Advising. Shannon believes that advising is a relationship and that effective advising is critical for student success in higher education. Shannon is a member of several professional organizations, including NACADA, NAFA, and NAAHP. 

At home, Shannon enjoys books, television, and movies, which she shares with her brilliant husband, Stephen, and amazing daughter, Audrey.