W. Ross Winterowd

W. Ross Winterowd was a rhetorician and literary theorist from the United States. He was born on January 24, 1930, in Salt Lake City, Utah. He earned his B.S. from Utah State University in 1952. During his undergraduate years at Utah State University, Winterowd showed an early interest in literature and rhetoric, which shaped his future academic focus. After finishing his undergraduate education, Winterowd served in the United States Army for three years, from 1952 to 1955. Following his military service, he pursued higher education at the University of Utah, where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1965 at the age of 35. His academic journey led him to focus on the interdisciplinary connections between rhetoric, linguistics, and education, which then became the foundation of his work. Winterowd passed away on January 21, 2011, leaving a lasting legacy in rhetoric and composition studies.