Elizabeth Holtzinger

Professional Bio

Elizabeth Holtzinger is a Teaching Professor of English at Penn State, where she has taught rhetoric and composition for over two decades. Her work centers on helping students recognize the stories that shape their lives and develop the rhetorical agility to revise, reframe, and lead with clarity. She is especially committed to student-centered pedagogy that views writing not only as an academic skill but as a practice of self-authorship, leadership, and civic engagement.

Holtzinger’s areas of teaching and professional interest include rhetorical theory (ancient through contemporary), narrative and identity, rhetorical leadership, and the pedagogy of writing as reflective and transformative practice. She regularly teaches first-year writing, guiding diverse cohorts of students through rhetorical analysis, argumentation, and applied writing projects that link theory to lived experience.

Beyond Penn State, Holtzinger has applied her expertise in rhetoric and communication to entrepreneurial and organizational contexts. She co-founded and developed businesses in publishing, workforce training, and healthcare, most notably helping to launch and grow a platform of ambulatory infusion centers in Pennsylvania, later acquired by a national healthcare company. These experiences inform her teaching by illustrating how rhetorical skill and strategic communication underpin both professional success and organizational change.

Her speaking and public engagement reflect this same commitment to connecting rhetoric across contexts. She has delivered her signature talk, We Got Engaged, to diverse audiences—including Penn State faculty, the Alzheimer’s Association, and South Hills School of Business—each time adapting the message to the needs of the community. Her perspectives on communication, health, and leadership have also been featured in various magazines and regional television news outlets.

Her current writing project, Unfold, explores the intersections of rhetoric, leadership, and personal transformation. This work extends into workshops and courses designed to help leaders and students alike connect narrative, ethos, and rhetorical timing (kairos) in ways that generate clarity and possibility.

Areas of Specialization

• Rhetoric and Composition

• Classical and Contemporary Rhetorical Theory

• Narrative and Identity

• Pedagogies of Writing and Leadership