Our Team

John Fleming earned his M.A. and Ph. D in Theatre History from the University of Texas at Austin, studying under Oscar Brockett. After teaching for three years at Auburn University, John joined the faculty at Texas State University in 1999.

From 1999-2005, John served as Director of Graduate Studies, teaching the undergraduate theatre history sequence as well as graduate seminars in Dramatic Theory and Criticism, Contemporary World Theatre, and the Backgrounds of Modern Drama course. While continuing to serve as a theatre historian, from 2005-2014, John served as chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance. Since the summer of 2014, he has served as dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication.

As a scholar, John has published extensively on contemporary theatre. His book Stoppard’s Theatre: Finding Order amid Chaos (2001) was nominated for an MLA Best First Book award. Other books include Romulus Linney: Maverick of the American Theater (2008, Smith and Kraus) and Tom Stoppard's Arcadia (2009, Continuum Press), and Davies and Penhall’s Sunny Afternoon (2016, Routledge). In 2012-13, he became the lead author for Oscar Brockett’s textbook The Essential Theatre, now in its 11th edition. His articles have appeared in journals such as TDR, Journal of American Drama and Theatre, Text and Performance Quarterly, and Latin American Theatre Review. His book chapters have appeared in Text and Presentation 2004 and Text and Presentation 2006. In fall 2011, he wrote "Arcadia: Unlocking Its Form and Structure" for the book Lectures de Tom Stoppard: Arcadia (Presses Universitaires de Rennes) and was the keynote speaker for a Stoppard conference in Toulousse, France.  Other book chapters “Tom Stoppard: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” in “The Real Thing”: Essays on Tom Stoppard in Celebration of His 75th Birthday (2013), “Tom Stoppard.” Fifty Modern and Contemporary Dramatists (2015), the “Introduction” to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead/Rosencrantz et Guildenstern sont mort (2017), and “Art and Aesthetics” in Tom Stoppard in Context (2021).  A former editor of Theatre Insight, John served may years on the editorial boards of Texas Theatre Journal and Ecumenica (formerly the Baylor Journal of Theatre and Performance).

John is also a playwright, with his plays having been produced in Texas, Alabama, Kansas, and New York. His full-length plays include Transposing Shakespeare (DFW Fringe Best Play 2007), The Two Lives of Napoleon Beazley (winner of the 2005 B. Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Original Script; subsequently produced off-off Broadway in 2008), The World Upside Down (an adaptation of Ludwig Tieck’s Die Verkehrte Welt), and Aristophanes’ Lysistrata: A Sports Adaptation. He has also written the one-act plays Lifeline and Three Point Perspective as well as the ten-minute plays To Dog Godot, Freudian Afternoon, and Foreign Exchange (or The Visitor). His screenplays include Where Time Stands Still (Gold Award, Houston International Film Festival) and Midnight Sky.

Shortly after returning to Texas from Louisiana in 1993, Kevin Gilley was appointed Director of Dining Services at the LBJ Student Center at Texas State University, a facility managed by Chartwells. In this role, he oversaw dining operations and developed extensive experience in hospitality management, customer service, and organizational leadership.

In June 1999, Kevin joined the Office of the President at Texas State University as Director of Special Projects for the University President and First Family. In this capacity, he planned, coordinated, and executed high-profile university events, special programs, and meetings, working closely with university leadership, donors, alumni, and community stakeholders.

In 2007, Kevin transitioned to the College of Fine Arts and Communication, where he serves as Assistant to the Dean and Executive Director of the Friends of Fine Arts and Communication. His responsibilities include alumni engagement, fundraising, donor relations, special events, strategic outreach initiatives, and advancing philanthropic support for the college's students, faculty, and its programs.

Before relocating to San Marcos, Kevin served as Director of Special Events for the Chancellor at Louisiana State University. Earlier in his career, he worked alongside nationally recognized lifestyle expert and entrepreneur Martha Stewart, as well as several prominent chefs and hospitality professionals. With more than three decades of experience in hospitality, special events, fundraising, and higher education administration, Kevin brings a unique combination of leadership, creativity, and relationship-building skills to his work. He holds a degree in hospitality management and is a classically trained chef.

Kevin has long been active in civic and community service. He served four terms as President of the San Marcos chapter of the American Cancer Society, during which time the chapter became one of the highest per-capita fundraising organizations for the Society in Texas. He also served as Vice President and later President of the Heritage Association of San Marcos.

Among his most notable community accomplishments was serving as Chairman of the Merriman Cabin Project, leading the fundraising, relocation, and restoration of the historic cabin from Aquarena Springs to its permanent home at the Juan Veramendi Plaza, helping preserve an important piece of San Marcos history for future generations.

A graduate of Leadership San Marcos (Class of 2003), Kevin participated in a record-setting class project that raised more than $80,000 to fund the first phase of the Water Playscape at the San Marcos City Park Pool. The experience further strengthened his commitment to community engagement and leadership development.

Kevin has been a resident of the Texas Hill Country for many years and is the proud father of six children. Throughout his professional and volunteer endeavors, he has remained committed to serving his community, supporting student success, and fostering meaningful connections between the university and the people it serves.

Laurie Fluker is the Associate Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication and an Associate Professor of the SJMC.  Her dissertation – earned in the Radio, Television, Film Department -- was titled: NBC Coverage of the Civil Rights Movement: 1955-1965. She annually serves as a national official for Honda All-Star Challenge University Competition and also serves on the State Board of the Texas Association of Black Personnel in Higher Education.  Fluker has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, such as the "Everett Sweeney Award for Excellence in Teaching" (2006) and the "Mariel M. Muir Excellence in Mentoring Award" (2006).

Laurie Fluker is the Associate Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication and an Associate Professor of the SJMC.  Her dissertation – earned in the Radio, Television, Film Department -- was titled: NBC Coverage of the Civil Rights Movement: 1955-1965. She annually serves as a national official for Honda All-Star Challenge University Competition and also serves on the State Board of the Texas Association of Black Personnel in Higher Education.  Fluker has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, such as the "Everett Sweeney Award for Excellence in Teaching" (2006) and the "Mariel M. Muir Excellence in Mentoring Award" (2006).