Robert Waller, MA
Associate Professor (Teaching) of Writing and Director of the Writing Center
USC Dornsife
Email: rwaller@email.usc.edu
Robert Waller (he/him) is Director of the USC Writing Center and an Associate Professor (Teaching) in the Writing Program. Professor Waller received his bachelor’s degree from Duke University, where he studied oral history and music, and has a degree in creative writing from USC. Robert has over 20 years of experience teaching writing with a particular focus on using writing as a tool to explore and reveal the creative process. At USC, he developed the popular Special Topics course, Writing for Visual and Performing Artists, that aims to help students articulate their own aesthetics and through this process expand their understanding both of writing and the meanings and purposes driving their work. In addition to his work at USC, Waller is the lead singer and a principal songwriter for the critically acclaimed country rock band, I See Hawks in L.A. The Hawks have produced ten albums, toured internationally, and had their songs appear in film and television, including Cobra Kai, Roswell, New Mexico, and True Blood. Waller has written, recorded, or performed with artists including Phoebe Bridgers, Lucinda Williams, Carla Olson, Eddie Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Justin Townes Earle, Tom Petty, Chris Hillman, John York, Gabe Witcher, Dave Alvin, Peter Case, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Bernie Leadon and the Meat Puppets. Robert lives in Highland Park with his wife, three children, and two cats.
