Gustavus Announces Eight New Tenure-Track Faculty Hires

The Office of the Provost at Gustavus Adolphus College is pleased to announce the hiring of eight new tenure-track faculty members who will begin their teaching duties at the onset of the 2011-12 academic year.

“These individuals completed their doctorates and post-docs at some of the top research institutions in the country. Many have already won teaching awards and most are already published in scholarly journals,” said Gustavus Provost and Dean of the College Mark Braun. “Plus, they come from outstanding undergraduate institutions, so they already understand our mission as a national liberal arts college.”

Betsy R. Byers will join the Department of Art and Art History as an assistant professor. Byers holds a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College and master’s degrees from both Saint Catherine University and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She lists her special interests as painting, printmaking, phenomenology, and ecology.

Pamela K. Conners will join the Department of Communication Studies as an instructor. Conners holds a bachelor’s degree from Bates College, a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and is close to finishing her Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her special interests include rhetoric, public policy, and social movements.

Kathleen A. Keller will join the Department of History as an assistant professor. Keller holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. from Rutgers University. She lists her special interests as modern Africa, modern European imperialism, modern France, and European women’s history.

Karrin Meffert-Nelson will join the Department of Music as an assistant professor. Meffert-Nelson holds a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College, a master’s degree from Northwestern University, and a doctor of music arts degree from the University of Minnesota. Her special interests include clarinet performance and pedagogy, conducting, chamber music, and instrumental methods.

Lynnea Myers will join the Department of Nursing as an assistant professor. Myers holds a bachelor’s degree from Gustavus and a master’s degree from Duke University.

Sheng-Ping Yang will join the Department of Economics and Management as an associate professor. Yang holds a bachelor’s degree from Baker University, a master’s degree from the University of Texas A&M, and a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His special interests include industrial organization, investment, and applied econometrics.

Non tenure-track faculty hires include Aron Anderson (Chemistry), Ruth Baker (Geology), Ulrika Dahl (Scandinavian Studies), Shawn Dash (Biology), James DeVoll (Music), Thomas Gardner (Chemistry), Jon Halvorson (Economics and Management), Sarah Hauss (Theatre and Dance), Cory Hinkle (Theatre and Dance), Dana Huebert Lima (Biology), Dmitriy Khon (Chemistry), Kristian Petersen (Religion), Andrea Rients (Education), Thomas Sigler (Geography), Amy Steffen (Nursing), Mauricio Vargas (Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures), Vincent Vecera (Political Science), and Eric Vrooman (English).

“I am proud to welcome such a fine group of new faculty to Gustavus and I look forward to the contributions they will make to teaching and learning as we begin this historic 150^th year,” Braun said.