News

St. Olaf College Provost and Dean of the College Marci Sortor has announced that two faculty members have been promoted to the rank of full professor, seven have been granted tenure and promoted to the rank of associate professor, and one has received tenure.

Promoted to Professor

• Professor of Chemistry Doug Beussman ’92, who specializes in bioanalytical chemistry and mass spectrometry, is a St. Olaf graduate who earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State University.
• Professor of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Paul Roback ’89 is an applied statistician whose research interests include Bayesian statistics, nonparametric methods, and statistical education. He is a St. Olaf graduate who earned his master’s degree from Iowa State University and Ph.D. from Colorado State University.

Granted Tenure and Promoted to Associate Professor

• Associate Professor of Religion Mara Benjamin, who specializes in modern Jewish thought, earned her baccalaureate degree from Hampshire College and Ph.D. from Stanford University.
• Associate Professor of Music David Castro, whose research interests include the music of Dmitri Shostakovich and Arvo Pärt and the pedagogy of music theory, earned his baccalaureate degree from Pacific Union College, master’s degree from the University of Arizona, and Ph.D. from the University of Oregon.
• Associate Professor of English Jennifer Kwon Dobbs is interested in poetry, creative nonfiction, Asian American studies, and translation. She earned her baccalaureate degree from Oklahoma State University, M.F.A. from the University of Pittsburgh, and master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Southern California.
• Associate Professor of Norwegian Kari Lie Dorer, who specializes in how technology enhances language learning, earned her baccalaureate degree from Concordia College-Moorhead, master’s degree from the University of Minnesota, and Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.
• Associate Professor of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Sharon Lane-Getaz, who specializes in statistics education, earned her baccalaureate degree from Trenton State College, master’s degree from Hamline University, and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.
• Associate Professor of Romance Languages Alberto Villate-Isaza, whose research and teaching interests include Hispanic-American literature and discourses of Latin-American identity, earned his baccalaureate degree from Universidad Javerina and Ph.D. from Boston College.
• Associate Professor of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Katie Ziegler-Graham, who specializes in biostatistics, earned her baccalaureate degree from the College of Wooster and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.

Granted Tenure

• Associate Professor of English Carlos Gallego has a wide range of research interests that include Chicano/a studies, 20th-century American literature, comparative ethnic studies, philosophy and critical theory, and cultural studies. He earned his baccalaureate degree from the University of Arizona and master’s and Ph.D. from Stanford University.