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Cathy Harms is a Senior Continuing Faculty member specializing in Marketing, Digital Marketing, and Marketing Research, and holds the George B. Torrey Endowed Chair of Management Marketing. She is currently the Business and Economics Department Chair. She joined the Gustavus faculty in 2016, bringing extensive professional experience from careers in banking, product management, venture capital, and marketing management.

Her teaching philosophy is centered on preparing students for the professional world. All of her courses incorporate experiential learning, pairing student teams with non-profits and businesses to develop marketing strategies, conduct market research, or implement digital marketing campaigns. This approach allows students to build critical skills in teamwork, project management, communication, and problem-solving. The world of marketing is constantly changing, so she brings in several guest speakers each semester to share their journey and the current marketing careers.

Beyond the classroom, Cathy manages the Content Managers for the Business and Economics Department. In this role, she oversees the creation of content for the department's social media platforms, which targets prospective students and undecided undergraduates. The content highlights departmental events, features students and alums, and educates the audience on the value of a Business, Accounting or Economics degree.

Cathy is deeply passionate about advising students and guiding them in their preparation for life after graduation. She has actively partnered with the Career Development Center to promote their services to students. As a proud alumna of Gustavus, she remains actively involved as a Class Agent and maintains close friendships established during her freshman year.

In her free time, she enjoys playing piano at a local nursing home, playing pickleball and volleyball, biking, hiking, walking in the Linnaeus Arboretum, and traveling. Her favorite role is being Nana to her four grandsons.

Cooperating teachers and supervisors are an incredible team of professionals helping prepare the next generation of teachers. The required documents for these support people are found here.

If you have experienced sexual misconduct, contact the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) for 24/7 support and resources like counseling and medical care.

Dr. Andrew Kendall serves as Associate Director of Choral Activities as well as Conductor of the Lucia Singers and the Choir of Christ Chapel. In addition to conducting his ensembles, he teaches courses in music education methods and conducting. Prior to his appointment at Gustavus, he served as Visiting Instructor and Conductor of The Gustavus Choir during the Spring 2023 semester. He earned his DMA in choral conducting at The University of Iowa, his MM in choral conducting at Louisiana State University, and his BA in music education from Gustavus Adolphus College. He has served as conductor of The Gustavus Choir, the LSU Chamber Singers, The University of Iowa Voxman Chorale, The University of Iowa University Choir, Musicorum, The St. John's Boys' Choir, and has held church music positions in Minnesota, Louisiana, and Iowa. He is a frequent choral clinician, guest conductor, and adjudicator.

Dr. Yumiko Oshima-Ryan began teaching at Gustavus in 2004. She enjoys teaching private piano lessons and establishing relationships with her students that focuses on trust and integrity. At her piano studio, students cultivate musical, technical, historical, and theoretical features of piano repertoire which they select to perform for their recital. Students focus on developing piano skills which are vital for artistic self-expression. Dr. Oshima-Ryan values mentoring students as they face their challenges, find new perspectives, and most of all, promote self-belief. All of these things ultimately provide deeper meaning and joy to their performance and creativity.

A native of Japan, Yumiko also teaches keyboard courses to students of all levels, including total beginners. Along with keyboard skills courses for music majors and minors, she offers courses on how to practice and prepare performances, as well as on wellness for musicians.

Dr. Oshima-Ryan believes musical performance is one of the most valuable opportunities students can have, and that it represents a core value in the music department of a liberal arts college. As an instructor, she also values sharing the experience of her own performances with students.

Her recordings, "Piano Works for the Left Hand - Takashi Yoshimatsu" and “From Afar,” are published by the Naxos Records label and available to stream on major digital platforms, including iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon. "Piano Works for the Left Hand" was selected as a special edition in the August 2022 issue of Record Geijutsu, a top music review magazine in Japan. Dr. Oshima-Ryan hopes this album inspires and encourages people rehabilitating after injury or fighting a major illness, such as cancer. The album includes pieces which were written for the composer’s respected friend, Izumi Tateno, who lost the use of his right hand after a cerebral hemorrhage. She wants the listeners to get past the idea of the left hand as the overlooked partner of the dominant right. She wants them to see, instead, that through courage, compassion, and creativity, the limitations of human frailty can be overcome.

Recently, Dr. Oshima-Ryan started collaborating with the Department of Theatre and Dance at Gustavus by creating original music for dance performances. Performances, recordings, and lectures are available online.

Access support for a medical leave, report bias or harassment, information on the bias response team, and find emergency resources. The Dean of Students Office is here to help you navigate challenges.

Access confidential and non-confidential resources on campus and externally, including counseling and national hotlines for support. Learn more about Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) and polices related to Sexual Harassment and Sexual Misconduct.

With the Gustavus Adolphus College women’s basketball team headed to the NCAA Division III Elite 8, the spotlight on women’s sports excellence in Minnesota was once again on full display.

Chris Nolting has been a Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics at Gustavus since 2023. In his classes, he focuses on including many worked example problems and opportunities for hands on learning in groups, and as many physics demonstrations as possible. As a computational astrophysicist, he enjoys showcasing examples related to astronomy whenever possible. His research focuses on the study of galaxy cluster environments and powerful jets from active galactic nuclei, supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies that accrete matter and power some of the brightest objects in the universe. This work is mainly done through numerical simulations on compute clusters and supercomputers using up to tens of thousands of processors simultaneously. Gustavus students working on research with Chris learn coding languages and data visualization techniques, and even 3D print some of the structures they simulate.

Chris is the faculty advisor to the Society of Physics Students and the Gustavus Engineering Club.

Outside of Gustavus, Chris a self-identifying nerd. He is a lover of board games, magic the gathering, Marvel movies, anime, and going on walks with his dog.
 

Espen Fredrick is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics. A 2021 Gustavus alumnus, Dr. Fredrick earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2025 before returning to the college, bringing with him a strong commitment to undergraduate education and student-centered research.

In the classroom, Dr. Fredrick emphasizes preparing students for future careers in science and related fields through a teaching philosophy centering on helping students develop the habits needed for independent problem solving. His favorite courses to teach include electromagnetic theory and quantum mechanics, where he enjoys helping students contextualize new mathematical formalisms to build their own physical intuition.

Dr. Fredrick’s research focuses on space plasma physics, particularly the interaction between the solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field. His work aims to improve predictions of how and when solar wind disturbances impact near-Earth space, contributing to a broader understanding of space weather and its effects on technological systems. At Gustavus, he is interested in involving undergraduates in research that emphasizes the accessibility of computational physics and empowers students to conduct meaningful research beyond traditional settings.

Beyond teaching and research, Dr. Fredrick currently assists students who operate the Olin Observatory, helping them gain hands-on experience with astronomical instrumentation. He values close collaboration with students and sees mentoring as one of the most rewarding aspects of his role. He is excited to help students grow as scientists, problem solvers, and future leaders.