I grew up near Vancouver. In 1991, I went to Mexico on student exchange and fell in love with Latin America and its history. I studied Latin American and Caribbean Studies at McGill University (B.A.) and at the University of California in San Diego (Master’s). I graduated from the University of Illinois in 2009 with my Ph.D. in history; my dissertation looks at the environmental history of the development of the world’s largest fishing port in Chimbote, Peru. I have traveled extensively through Peru and Mexico and look forward to taking students on study abroad trips to Latin America. I’ve worked at MSUM since 2008 and I teach classes in world, Latin American, African, and environmental history.

John Hall, Professor, Spanish Education; Ph.D. in Second Languages and Cultures Education, M.A. in Spanish Pedagogy, B.A. in Spanish; John has been a life-long learner of languages. He grew up in Chile, where Spanish and English were his two languages in daily life. Over his career, John has been a teacher of Spanish, French, ESL, and education across multiple ages and locations. He has taught preschoolers, high schoolers, and college students, and he has trained teachers in Minneapolis and Moorhead.

Linda Houts-Smith, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator, TESL; Ph.D. in English, M.A.T. in ESL, B.A. in Classics and Medieval Studies. Linda began her career in ESL as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco, and she has taught in six different states as well as three foreign countries. Now Linda not only teaches in but also coordinates the TESL program. Although a generalist, Linda’s greatest expertise probably lies in syntax and the nature of oral language.

Kim Park Nelson teaches in the American Multicultural Studies program. Professor Park Nelson's book, Invisible Asians: Korean American Adoptees, Asian American Experiences and Racial Exceptionalism was published by Rutgers University Press in Spring 2016 and is based in her ethnographic research exploring the many identities of adult Korean adoptees, as well as the cultural, social, historical, and political significance of sixty years of Korean adoption to the United States. She has been interviewed on the topic of Korean and other international adoption for Minnesota, Wisconsin, California and National Public Radio and for publications such as the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. Her teaching focuses on Asian American studies and comparative race and ethnic studies. She was the three-time lead organizer for the International Symposia on Korean Adoption Studies, which took place in Seoul in 2007, 2010, and 2013. She has a Ph.D in American studies from the University of Minnesota.

I have always loved history. I grew up in New England surrounded by Colonial and Early American history—several of the houses on my street were built in the 18th century! I went off to Luther College in Iowa as a biology major and after graduation I lived in Norway for three years. Returning to the United States I worked at the U of Minnesota Hospitals in a research lab before deciding to apply to graduate school in history at Northern Illinois University outside Chicago where I wrote my dissertation on the yellow fever epidemics in the new nation’s capital in the 1790s. At MSUM I teach all our courses up through the Civil War as well as a history of disease and medicine course. I strongly believe the purpose of higher education is to equip students with the skill set necessary to succeed in today’s world. My own experience tells me preparing students to engage in life of learning is much more important than filling heads with facts and figures in the classroom. In my classroom you will learn to think critically about the past so you may use it to inform your future—that is the most important skill higher education can give you help you on your way.