Welcome to NMU's newest faculty members!
Mr. Richard A. Balding
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Mr. Richard A. Balding, formerly an adjunct faculty member, is joining the Department on a one-year term appointment. He received his B.S. in Secondary Education Mathematics and Chemistry as well as his M.A. in Mathematics and Chemistry from Northern Michigan University . Mr. Balding has been working for the Department as an adjunct instructor since August 1978. Recently, he retired from Marquette Senior High School where he taught Honors Precalculus and AP Calculus. He also coached boy's tennis for 7 years (5 U.P. Championships) and girl's tennis for 14 years (2 U.P. Championships). Richard was selected Division 2 State Coach of the year for girl's tennis in 2002. As for personal interests, he enjoys playing tennis, mostly doubles.
Stephen Burn
Department of English
Stephen Burn received his Ph.D. in 2001 from the University of Durham, England. A regular reviewer for the Times Literary Supplement and author of two books of criticism--David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest : A Reader's Guide , published by Continuum Press, and Understanding Jonathan Franzen , University of South Carolina Press, Stephen is interested in the legacy of the modern encyclopedic novel as it descends from James Joyce's Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake. His scholarship runs from James Joyce and Virginia Woolf through to William Gaddis, Don DeLillo, Joanna Scott, Thomas Pynchon, Wallace and Franzen. Most of his life Stephen lived in Scotland (his B.A. is from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow ) and the Northern tip of England , whose climate he likens to what he's seen and heard of Marquette . We told him about the snow.
Allison Adelle Hedge Coke
Department of English
Allison Adelle Hedge Coke will begin her appointment in January 2005, teaching Native American literature and creative writing. She has an M.F.A in poetry and writing from Vermont College , and she is also a graduate of the American Indian Arts Institute (AIAI) in Santa Fe , New Mexico . In 1998 she won the American Book award for her book of poetry, Dog Road Woman, and recently published a memoir, Rock, Ghost, Willow , Deer. She has many other publications, including fiction, many awards for teaching and writing, and she has worked in and written for the theatre. Across the United States , she has taught Native American Literature, creative writing, and composition. Last year she was a writer in residence for the Sioux Falls Public High Schools, and she directed creative writing theses for the AIAI.
Thomas E. Isaacson
Department of Communication and Performance Studies
Thomas E. Isaacson joins the Department as an Instructor in Public Relations and Speech Communication. Tom is an NMU alum, graduating with a B.S. in Public Relations and Marketing, and was the first NMU student to be elected to national office in the Public Relations Student Society of America serving one year as Vice President of Member Services. A former Assistant Director of Sports Information and Athletic Advancement at Ferris State University and Senior Account Manager with Rolling Thunder Marketing in Seattle Washington., Tom completed an M.A. in Communications at Michigan State University last year.
Andrea Kohl
Department of Art & Design
Andrea Kohl joins the Art and Design Department as an Assistant Professor of Graphic Communication. She received her M.F.A. in Visual Communication from Kansas State University-Manhattan. Andrea has studied at Fachhochschule Trier in Germany and Kent Institute of Art and Design at Madistone , England. Her Specialty is typographic design.
Gerard Lange
Department of Art & Design
Gerard Lange has been appointed Assistant Professor of Photography. He received an M.F.A. from Tulane University and his B.A. from LaGrange College , graduating Summa Cum Laude. He has worked in both the fine arts and commercial areas of photography, has exhibited his art internationally and is represented by galleries in Athens , Atlanta , New Orleans and New York .
Oswald Lopez
Department of Biology
Oswald Lopez has been appointed as an Assistant Professor of Microbiology. He earned both his Licentiate in Biology (M.S.) and his Ph.D. in Biology at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and taught biology courses there for several years. He joins NMU after working full-time as a Research Associate Professor at the University of Nebraska , where he molecular immunology. Dr. Lopez also has as outstanding record of publication, grant awards and patents, together with several years of experience in the biotechnology industry.
Paul Anthony Lubotina
Department of History
Paul Anthony Lubotina has been appointed as a term Instructor of History. He is a doctoral candidate at St. Louis University and is presently researching and writing his doctoral dissertation, "Conflict and Community Building : The Dichotomy of Immigrant Life on Minnesota 's Mesabi Iron Range ." A native of the Twin Cities, he has roots in the Mesabi Iron Range . He received his M.A. from the University of Helsinki and his B.A. from the University of Minnesota , Minneapolis . He taught as an adjunct professor and research fellow at St. Louis University . He will be teaching American survey and immigration history at NMU. Lubotina has language skills in Finnish and Swedish.
Michael T. Rogers
Department of Political Sciences and Public Administration
Michael T. Rogers has been appointed an Instructor of Political Science. He is a Ph.D. candidate at the State University of New York at Albany . He received his M.A. from the same institution and his B.A. from Wabash College . His areas of concentration are classical and contemporary democratic theory and American political thought. He has a publishing record and has been a presenter at numerous political science conferences throughout the country. Most recently he has been teaching at Wabash College .
Jeff Snyder-Reinke
Department of History
Jeff Snyder-Reinke has been appointed a term Assistant Professor of History. He earned his Ph.D. in History at the University of Michigan in 2004. He is an NMU alum, graduating with honors in 1994, and he received his M.A. from the University of Michigan in 2001. A student of Asian history, Jeff has taught courses in Tibetan Buddhism and survey courses in various aspects of Asian history. His dissertation explores official rainmaking activities and their relationship to state power and is entitled, "Dry Spells: Rainmaking, Power and the State in the 19 th Century China." He has interests in the out-of-doors and cooking.
Bruce Sarjeant
Learning Resources Center
Originally from the Seattle area, Bruce comes to NMU from Texas Tech
University where he was the Maps/GIS and State Documents Librarian.
He
has a BA in Geography from Western Washington University (1989) and
MLS
from Indiana University (2001). Among his many interests are outdoor
recreation (which the UP should easily satisfy), maps, history, and
railroads.
James Z. Schwartz
Department of History
James Z. Schwartz has been appointed a term Assistant Professor of History. A resident of metro Detroit, he received his Ph.D. from Wayne State in 2003 and his specialty is early American History and in particular Michigan history. He received his M.A. in British history at the University of Manchester and his B.A. from Washington University (St.Louis). Schwartz has won numerous awards and honors and has numerous publications on early Michigan history. He will be teaching American history prior to 1865.
David M. Switzer
Department of Economics
David M. Switzer has been appointed as an Assistant Professor. He received his Ph.D. from Washington University ( St.Louis). In
2000 he received his M.A. in Economics from Washington University , and four years earlier he received a B.A. in Economics and Legal Studies from the University of California , Los Angeles . His doctoral dissertation is a captivating study entitled," Capacity Allocation for the Multi-Product Form: A Supply-Side Study of Movie Exhibition." He has taught as an instructor at
St.Louis University , Washington University, St.Louis Community College and the University of California, Berkeley.
Cate Terwilliger
Department of English
Cate Terwilliger received a B.S from the University of Minnesota in Animal Science, an M.A in Journalism from the University of Michigan ,and has done doctoral work in Mass Communications at the University of Minnesota . She was a journalism instructor at the University of Minnesota from 1991-93 where she taught reporting and writing and practicum. She also was the writing coach for the Minnesota Daily, the student newspaper. Cate has a strong background in daily journalism and worked for two years with the Associated Press, working in its Minneapolis bureau. She has received numerous awards for her journalistic writing, including two nominations in 1989 and 1998 for the Pulitzer Prize in feature writing. She also received first place for Best Feature from the Colorado Press Association and the Society of Professional Journalists. For four years she wrote a weekly column for the Denver Post. For two years, she was editor of the Colorado Springs Independent, an alternative newspaper with a 13-person staff. For the past two years, Cate has been a freelance and technical writer.
Richard S. Xiong
Department of Economics