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Justin Bartel,
Professional
Academic Advisor, moved
to Aberdeen and joined
Northern State as the
Jump Start Retention
Advisor in June 2015. He
has a Master’s in School
Counseling from South
Dakota State University and
BS in Geography and Geographic Information
Sciences, also from SDSU. Bartel has worked
with students in a variety of capacities such as
school counselor, teacher, coach, admissions
representative, and academic advisor.
Brian Bengs,
Esq., Assistant
Professor of Criminal
Justice, has a Bachelor’s in
History from Iowa State
University, a Master’s in
History from Louisiana Tech
University, a Juris Doctor
from the University of
Iowa, and a Master of Laws from The George
Washington University. His areas of expertise
are International Law and Criminal Law. Bengs
recently retired from the U.S. Air Force JAG
Corps as a lieutenant colonel with twenty-one
years of active duty service. During his military
service, he worked as a prosecutor, defense
counsel, Assistant Professor of Law at the Air
Force Academy, and operational law instructor
at the NATO School. He will be developing a
Homeland Security focus
area within the broader
Criminal Justice field.
Joshua Hagen,
Dean of
the College of Arts and
Sciences, has a Ph.D. and
a Master’s in Geography
from the University
of Wisconsin-Madison and a Bachelor’s in
Geography and Political Science from the
University of Northern Iowa. He was previously
Professor of Geography and Department Chair
at Marshall University.
Joanne Nemmers,
Secretary
for the Department of
Languages, Literature, and
Communication Studies, has
a Bachelor’s in German from
Douglass College (Rutgers
University). She began her
career as a personnel officer
in the U.S. Air Force, serving in California and
in Turkey. She has lived, worked, and traveled
extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe,
bringing to NSU’s College of Arts and Sciences
forty years of administrative experience in a
variety of industries and an understanding of
foreign customs and cultures.
Stacy Trentham,
Assistant
Professor of Mathematics, has
a Bachelor’s in Psychology
from the University of
Minnesota, Morris and
a Ph.D. in Mathematics
from North Dakota State
University. While at NDSU,
she taught a variety of undergraduate math
courses and was a participant in the NSF
grant-supported program GraSus. Through this
program, she was paired with a local high-
school math teacher to enhance the classroom
experience by creating “real-world” application
projects. After graduate school, Dr. Trentham
went on to teach Mathematics at Armstrong
State University in Savannah, GA for five
years. Her research interests lie in the field of
factorization theory.
Please join me in
congratulating
Drs. Jon
Mitchell
and
George
Nora,
both in the
Department of Biology,
Chemistry, Physics,
and Mathematics,
on their successful
applications for tenure
and promotion to
Associate Professor
last year. This marks a
significant milestone
in their professional
development and
represents a long-term,
reciprocal commitment between faculty
and the university. Well done!
NSU’s Rising Scholars (RS) Program is
currently seeking accreditation by the
National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment
Partnerships (NACEP), the sole national
accrediting body for concurrent enrollment
partnerships. NSU’s Rising Scholars Program
director, Terry Piatz, with assistance from other
university departments, submitted Northern’s
self-study in June 2016 and expects the final
decision of accreditation will be forthcoming in
April 2017.
The RS Program, which allows high-school
students to earn credit toward high-school
graduation and a college degree simultaneously,
began at NSU in 2005. The program partners
with nine high schools in South Dakota, with
one more school joining in fall 2017. As of
fall 2016, 460 students were enrolled in the
program. Concurrent enrollment courses are
taught in the high school by college-approved
high-school teachers who must have a Master’s
degree in their discipline or a Master’s degree
plus eighteen discipline-specific graduate
credits. NSU faculty collaborate with the
high-school teachers to develop the courses.
The program offers courses in Art, Biology,
Chemistry, English, History, Mathematics, and
Speech.
Rising Scholars Program Seeking
NACEP Accreditation
NEW FACULTY AND STAFF
DR. ELKHADER
RETIRES
Dr. Abid Elkhader,
Professor of
Mathematics, will retire
after twenty-seven years
of service to NSU in the
Department of Biology,
Chemistry, Physics, and
Mathematics. Over that
time, Dr. Elkhader’s dedication to helping
his students succeed has been remarkable.
In addition to teaching, Dr. Elkhader
served Northern in a variety of roles,
including those of Assistant to the Provost
and Vice President for Academic Affairs,
Interim Dean, Head and Director of the
Department of Mathematics, Director
of the Office of Instructional Services,
Interim Coordinator of the Grants Office,
member of the Faculty Senate, and chair of
the South Dakota Board of Regents Math
Discipline Council. Dr. Elkhader was also
awarded a Bush Leadership Fellowship from
the Archibald Bush Foundation, Senior
Fulbright Scholar Award from the U.S.
Department of State, and the Nora Staael
Evert Faculty Award from Northern. Dr.
Elkhader was recognized for his overall
contributions by receiving the Outstanding
Faculty Award at NSU in 1997. We thank
Dr. Elkhader for all his contributions to
Northern and wish him all the best in
retirement.
FACULTY
PROMOTIONS