Gustavus Hires New Tenure Track Faculty

Gustavus Adolphus College is pleased to announce the hiring of four new tenure-track faculty members who will begin their teaching duties at the onset of the 2010-11 academic year.

Kristian F. Braekkan (Economics and Management), Asli Ilgit (Political Science), Stephen Miller (Chemistry), and Kjerstin Moody (Scandinavian Studies) represent four of an expected 11 new faculty hires this year.

“These hires are significant not only because of the quality of the four individuals, but because they represent a continuing commitment to providing an excellent faculty for our students in this difficult economic climate,” said Provost and Dean of the College David Fienen. “I’d like to personally welcome Kristian, Asli, Stephen, and Kjerstin to the Gustavus community.”

Braekkan has served as a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Management at Virginia Tech University since 2006. Braekkan has also held several adjunct faculty positions at several schools in Kentucky including Georgetown College, Indiana Wesleyan University, and Campbellsville University.

Braekkan holds a B.A. in history and business administration from the University of Texas, Tyler and an M.B.A. in economics from the University of Texas, Arlington. He expects to earn his Ph.D. in business administration from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in May 2010. Braekkan’s research interests include organization behavior, human resources and labor relations, item response theory, and organizational forecasting capabilities.

Ilgit has served as an instructor at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs since 2006. She holds a B.A. in political science and international relations from Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey. She earned an M.A. in international relations from Syracuse University and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in political science at the school.

Miller has served as a visiting professor at Gustavus since 2008. He has also spent time as an adjunct instructor at North Hennepin Community College and as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Minnesota, Duluth and the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Miller holds a B.S. in chemistry and biochemistry/molecular biology and an M.S. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota, Duluth. He holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Moody has served a visiting instructor at the University of Illinois and as a senior teaching assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

She earned her B.A. from Gustavus in Scandinavian studies and English in 1998. She earned an M.A. in Scandinavian Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Scandinavian Studies.