This fall, Central welcomed 11 new faculty members to campus. They teach in a range of departments and hail from across the country and around the world. Let’s get to know the new faculty!
ACCOUNTING
Sara Bergman, assistant professor of accounting
- MAcc (Iowa State University), CPA
- Academic areas of research/interest: management accounting, AIS
Q: What attracted you to Central College?
A: The students, small class sizes that allow for more individual attention, and the relationship the college has with the community of Pella.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about teaching?
A: I love “light bulb” moments — it brightens my day to see someone work hard to understand a concept!
Q: What’s something you are passionate about that’s not directly related to your academic work?
A: I love music (playing the clarinet), and I love to run — both activities serve as a form of stress relief! I also love anything Spanish — the language, the food, the culture — you name it.
Q: What should a student taking your class know about you?
A: I try in every one of my classes to create an environment where learning accounting and crunching numbers is challenging, interactive and fun at the same time. Numbers don’t have to be boring!
BIOLOGY
Lee Macomber, assistant professor of biology
- Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Academic areas of research/interest: bacterial physiology (specifically the toxicity and metabolism of metals)
Q: What’s something you are passionate about that’s not directly related to your academic work?
A: Philadelphia sports teams — whoo! My favorite team is the Phillies, so 2008 was a very good year.
Q: What should a student taking your class know about you?
A: Beside sports, I have a wide range of interests. I have acted in theater, played the trombone. I love reading and the outdoors. If you want to discuss the awesomeness of microbes or just chat, my door is always open, even after you leave my class.
Q: How did you get interested in biology?
A: In my undergraduate microbiology course, I learned bacteria are amazing. They breathe iron, degrade harmful chemicals, live in the most extreme environments and survive dormant for hundreds of millions years. If it can be done, a microbe has done it.
Q: Tell us one unexpected thing about yourself.
A: I was in the 1988 movie “Hairspray.”
EDUCATION
Rebecca Addleman, associate professor of education
- EdD in curriculum and instruction with a specialization in literacy
- Academic areas of research/interest: internationalizing teacher education and transformative learning theory
Q: What attracted you to Central?
A: The education department’s strong focus on preparing teachers through study abroad and Central Teacher Academy.
Q: What’s something you are passionate about that’s not directly related to your academic work?
A: Playing games: Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, Euchre, Dutch Blitz.
Q: What should a student taking your class know about you?
A: I like to run class like a lab — facilitating activities and conversations that lead to learning inside and outside the classroom.
Q: What gets you going in the morning?
A: Cold caffeine and not having to set an alarm.
Melanie Hatch, lecturer of education
- Masters in educational leadership, Drake University
- Academic areas of research/interest: special education
Q: What attracted you to Central College?
A: As a Central College grad, I am aware of the great things Central offers students. Central’s education department has always stood out, and I have always dreamed of coming back to teach the future generation of teachers.
Q: What should a student taking your class know about you?
A: I enjoy using many types of instruction, therefore things will not necessarily be the same from one day to the next.
Q: Describe the most interesting object in your office.
A: I have fidget toys I used in my elementary and middle school classrooms. It is amazing how college students love them the same!
Jason Surian, assistant professor of education
- D. in educational leadership, Western Michigan University
- Academic areas of research/interest: teacher education and leadership, problem-based learning, bilingual education, early childhood education, principal preparation, multi-tiered systems of support (reading, math, behavior), autism
Q: What attracted you to Central College?
A: Initially, it was the reputation of Central and the size of the education department. However, after spending a day on campus during the interview process, it was apparent the people at Central make it the great institution of higher learning that it is. I felt so welcomed by the faculty and students — I knew this was where I wanted to be.
Q: What should a student taking your class know about you?
A: I love to laugh and enjoy what I do. I want them to know we will learn through a variety of techniques, but there will certainly be humor and fun.
Q: What is one of your favorite books?
A: Definitely “The Polar Express” by Chris Van Allsburg. As a classroom teacher, I read this story during the holidays, and we would take the class on “The Polar Express” through our school building, complete with conductor, elves and Santa.
Q: What gets you going in the morning?
A: Two cups of coffee, the morning news and a quick stop at Starbucks on my way to work for a coffee to go.
Julianne Taylor, lecturer of education
- Master of Science in education (school counseling), Buena Vista University
- Academic areas of research/interests: early childhood education, literacy, formative assessment process, power of comprehensive school counseling programs; research, strategies and best practices related to supporting children who have experienced trauma
Q: What is your favorite thing about teaching?
A: Creating learning opportunities where there is safety in making mistakes and encouraging students to take risks to increase their own learning and their classmates’ learning.
Q: What should a student taking your class know about you?
A: Mistakes are expected … it is truly how we learn.
Q: What is one of your favorite books?
A: “The Boxcar Children” by Gertrude Warner (because my first-grade teacher read the book aloud and inspired my imagination and desire to read). “Flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (because I enjoy learning about human behavior).
Q: Do you have a first day of school ritual?
A: Not sleeping the night before because I’m excited about how the first day of school may unfold.
EXERCISE SCIENCE
Elizabeth Vermeer, assistant professor of exercise science
- Doctorate of Physical Therapy, University of Iowa
- Academic areas of research/interest: recognizing differences in gait patterns and how they lead to injury including joint deterioration and/or muscle inefficiency
Q: What attracted you to Central College?
A: Central has a small-college feel with great opportunity to pursue educational growth close to home and abroad. Having an undergraduate degree from a large public university, I had many poor experiences with large class sizes and professors who were not there for the students. I look forward to building working relationships with students and faculty.
Q: What should a student taking your class know about you?
A: I understand that everyone has a different learning style. My goal is to figure out how to help students be successful in my class and in their profession. If you work with me, I will work with you.
Q: What gets you going in the morning?
A: I am normally woken up by my 1-year-old talking or singing from her crib or my 4-year-old tackling me.
Q: Tell us one unexpected thing about yourself.
A: I have five brothers, three sisters, and 27 nephews and nieces.
PHILOSOPHY
Mark Thomas, assistant professor of philosophy
- Ph.D., Boston College
- Academic areas of research/interest: German idealism, metaphysics of freedom, the relationship between faith and reason, history of philosophy
Q: What attracted you to Central College?
A: I’m attracted because it’s a small liberal arts school focused on teaching. I’m really looking forward to interacting with faculty teaching in other disciplines. It’s difficult to do that at a larger, research-focused institution. I also find the international focus attractive, because it fits well with my interests in German philosophy.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about teaching?
A: The in-class interactions and discussions with students. Even when the class is thoroughly planned, there is always something spontaneous about class discussion that can lead to unexpected discoveries.
Q: What’s something you are passionate about that’s not directly related to your academic work?
A: Classical music. I studied organ as an undergraduate, and I own a clavichord (a small, Baroque keyboard instrument).
PHYSICS
Elizabeth Golovatski, assistant professor of physics
- Ph.D. in physics, University of Iowa
- Academic areas of research/interest: “Spintronics,” magnetic memory, nanoscale magnetism, computational modeling
Q: What’s your favorite thing about teaching?
A: The conversation you have with a student who just read something cool about black holes and just has to share it with you.
Q: What should a student taking your class know about you?
A: There will be cats.
Q: How did you get interested in physics?
A: I was too short to be an astronaut, so my love of space led me into physics. I thought I would become an astronomer. I got sidetracked.
Q: What is one of your favorite books?
A: “Contact” by Carl Sagan. Carl Sagan — astronomer, writer and passionate communicator of science to the public — is my hero.
Chong Wang, assistant professor of physics
- Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, UC Irvine
- Academic areas of research/interest: cardiovascular biomechanics, mechanotransduction, cell mechanics
Q: What attracted you to Central College?
A: The small liberal arts environment and ample opportunities to interact with students.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about teaching?
A: The potential to make a difference in students’ lives.
Q: What’s something you are passionate about that’s not directly related to your academic work?
A: I enjoy weekend outings with my lovely wife, Junran, and children, Raymond and Serena. Also collecting vinyl records and hi-fi audio (in hiatus now).
Q: What is one of your favorite books?
A: “Hong Long Meng” (“The story of the stone,” or “The dream of the red chamber”), the pinnacle of classical Chinese fiction.
SOCIOLOGY/ANTHROPOLOGY
Jeremia Njeru, assistant professor of sociology/anthropology
- Ph.D. in geography, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Academic areas of research/interest: urban geography, urban and regional planning, urban sustainability, environmental justice, globalization and political ecology
Q: What’s your favorite thing about teaching?
A: As a geographer, my favorite thing is seeing students appreciate how their own lives here in the United States are intertwined with lives of people in distant countries that few have heard about.
Q: How did you get interested in human geography?
A: I was born and raised in a village in rural Kenya. My real encounter with urban life was when I was admitted to the University of Nairobi. Nairobi, the Kenyan capital of more than 4 million people fascinated me, especially in regards to its socio-environmental inequalities. I wondered why some residents lived in well-landscaped neighborhoods, provided with all modern amenities, while others lived in squatter settlements that lacked basic services. After taking geography courses, especially urban geography, at the University, I discovered geographers have unique ways in how they approach questions such as the ones I had about Nairobi.
Q: Tell us one unexpected thing about yourself.
A: I am a professional barber, having come from a family of barbers.
Promotions
Jim Shriver was promoted to professor of chemistry. Four faculty members received tenure and were promoted to associate professor. Nicole Palenske and Paulina Mena were named associate professors of biology; Amy Young is now associate professor of German and Maria Snyder is associate professor of German and French.
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