New faculty this fall

September 11, 2014

Dakota State hired several new faculty for the 2014 academic year. A total of seven faculty have been hired in all three college departments. The dorms opened for new students on Friday, Aug. 22, and classes began on Monday, Aug. 25.

Katie Anderson, instructor in the College of Education: Anderson has taught middle school science and reading for the past ten years in Rapid City, S.D.  She has a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Black Hills State University, has achieved National Board Certification for Professional Teaching Standards and had begun her doctorate in Reading and Literacy Leadership through Walden University. She is passionate about teaching and learning and is excited to join the DSU College of Education, with an opportunity to influence the practice of future teachers.

Angela Behrends, instructor in the College of Arts and Sciences: Behrends is newly hired in the College of Arts & Sciences, however, not a new face at DSU. She has been an adjunct faculty member for five years, serving in Digital Arts and Design and occasionally teaching courses for the Dakota English Language Institute. Her MFA in Sculpture was earned at the University of Nebraska Lincoln and her BA is from University of Minnesota Morris. Behrends' research art exhibition record is extensive, including the South Dakota Governor's 6th Biennial Art Exhibition opening at the end of September, 2014.

Patti Brooks, assistant professor in Health Information Management in the College of Business and Information Systems: Brooks is a DSU alumnae from Mitchell, S.D. and has a long history of adjunct instructing at Dakota State. Upon finishing her doctorate with DSU earlier this year, she was selected as a full-time faculty member. She has worked in Health Information Management at Avera Health, Pipestone County Medical Center and Good Samaritan Village.

Shuyuan (Lance) Deng, assistant professor in the College of Business and Information Systems: Deng studied Information Technology Management at the Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. His primary research interests are Business Intelligence and Analytics. He has been working with social media data analysis to solve problems in the finance and accounting domains.

Insu Park, assistant professor in the College of Business and Information Systems: Most recently, Park was an Instructor in the Department of Management and Information Systems of the Fogelman College of Business and Economics and the University of Memphis. His research interests include Information Assurance and Health Care Information Systems, E-Commerce and Consumer Research. His Ph.D. is in Management Information Systems, with a minor in Marketing, from State University of New York at Buffalo.

Edoardo Persichetti, assistant professor of Math in the College of Arts and Sciences: Persichetti is originally from Rome, Italy, where he studied Mathematics for his undergraduate and master’s degrees.  He completed his Ph.D. in New Zealand in 2012. After a research experience in Poland, he looks forward to starting his new adventure in the United States.

William Sewell, assistant professor of English Education and Composition in the College of Arts and Sciences: Sewell received a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, with emphasis in English Education, from the University of Kansas. His research interests include multimodal literacies, writing, literacy instruction, young adult literature and science fiction.

Steve Steele, instructor in the College of Education/Assistant Football Coach: Steele received a Master of Science in Educational Technology with an emphasis in Distance Education from Dakota State. Steve will continue in his coaching role and will also be picking up a half-time instructor position with the College of Education.