She completed her doctoral degree at the University of Georgia in 2007 and joined the Millsaps faculty in 2008. DeRouen’s main foci are composition and rhetoric, particularly issues related to the acquisition, practice, and retention of digital literacy skills, but her scholarly and teaching pursuits also include study of the British Romantic and Modern periods (particularly the work of William Blake and W. B. Yeats) and various topics related to writing and digital culture. She is currently working on studies of the literacy and communicative challenges of online reading and the role of anonymity in online discussion communities.