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Gustavus Adolphus College collaborated with the Studio Arts seniors to create an exhibit where students are able to share the work done in classes one last time.

Born and raised in Wisconsin, Matthew attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire as a Blugold Fellow where he earned a comprehensive bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts. His work includes both production and front-of-house operations at the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center, the Heyde Center for the Arts in Chippewa Falls, and the Chippewa Valley Theatre Guild in Eau Claire.

In 2009, he began working as the Scenic Studio Supervisor for the Department of Music & Theatre Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

In 2011, Matthew left Wisconsin to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His time as a graduate student was distinguished as a Hixson-Lied Fellow in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre & Film. His contributions to the theatre program were honored by receiving the Porter Award for Creativity in Theatre and being selected to join the school’s Order of the Purple Mask.

Since receiving his MFA in Design & Technical Production, Matthew has been the Technical Director for the Alpine Theatre Project’s 2014 season in Whitefish, Montana, the Technical Director and Scenic/Lighting/Sound Designer for the Eau Claire Children’s Theatre, and a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

His role as professor at Gustavus, where he teaches stagecraft, computer-aided drafting, and stage management courses, is also filled with days overseeing the construction of the scenic elements for all of the department's productions in theatre and dance.

Dr. David Stamps anchors his career in the deliberate synthesis of creative practice, academic inquiry, and institutional leadership. As a multi-faceted educator and administrator, he serves as the Assistant Provost of Faculty Development and Support, the Director of the John S. Kendall Center for Engaged Learning, and an Associate Professor of Music and Arts Entrepreneurship. Across all his roles, Dave is dedicated to cultivating environments where both faculty and students can thrive creatively, pedagogically, and professionally.

With a deep-rooted passion for music and the creative economy, Dave’s academic expertise encompasses jazz composition and arranging, music business and industry, recording technology, and jazz ensemble direction. His work as a composer and performer is recognized globally; his music has been performed on stages across five continents, spanning Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. Extending the reach of the classroom onto the world stage, Dave’s international footprint includes significant time spent in Romania as a visiting artist and scholar.

In his administrative capacities, Dave is a collaborative leader championing the future of higher education. His primary focus areas include faculty development, inclusive mentoring, arts administration, and the strategic, ethical engagement with artificial intelligence (AI) in learning environments. Whether navigating the impact of emerging technologies in the classroom or building equitable mentoring frameworks, Dave focuses on empowering educators to excel in an ever-changing academic landscape.

Beyond his campus responsibilities, Dave is the co-founder and Past President of the International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers (ISJAC), an organization dedicated to fostering advocacy, community, and the appreciation of new works among jazz creators worldwide.
 

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Sarah Erickson Lume grew up near Ann Arbor, MI and had the privilege of spending summers at the international music camp, Interlochen Center for the Arts. This experience instilled in her the love of music making and she began to cultivate the artistic discipline of practicing, rehearsing, and performing within the context of a supportive community. Valuing a liberal arts education, she attended Sarah Lawrence College, outside of New York City while continuing to study oboe with Laura Ahlbeck (Metropolitan Opera) and Randall Wolfgang (New York City Ballet).

Sarah worked at NYC’s Carnegie Hall before entering graduate school at Carnegie Mellon University, where she was the student of her most influential teacher, Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida (Principal Oboist of the Pittsburgh Symphony). While pursuing a master’s degree in music performance, her momentum flourished both as a musician and as a reed maker. The Philadelphia style of reed making, and the resulting benefits to the oboist, is a specialty she now passes on to her own students. During this time, Sarah also attended Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, and Orford Music Festival, in Quebec.

Her work in the Twin Cities includes chamber music and freelance performances as well as previous work with the Duluth Symphony Orchestra, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, and Minnesota Waldorf School. Having been an oboe instructor at Gustavus Adolphus College for more than twenty years, Sarah has found teaching to be one of the most fulfilling jobs of her career. She maintains a private home studio and teaches as an adjunct faculty member at other area colleges. Her interests include Alexander Technique, optimal performance psychology, practicing the piano, and recorder, as well as running. Sarah and her husband, a visual artist and professor, have two daughters.

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.

Gustavus provides inclusive event planning guidelines including campus maps, speaker support, tips on planning for seating, presentation, dietary options, and other logistics.

Dr. Sarah Wolter serves as an Associate Professor and Chair of Communication Studies as well as an Assistant Women’s Golf Coach at Gustavus Adolphus College.

Dr. Wolter teaches a diverse range of courses, most notably Introduction to Critical Media Studies (COM 115), Public Discourse (COM 120), and the Sport Management cross-listed Communication and Sport (COM 373). Driven by a commitment to critical pedagogy, she utilizes evidence-based, high-impact practices and systematic assessment to elevate student learning. Her dedication to the classroom has earned her several honors, including the Gustavus Innovative Teaching Award, the Gustavus Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence, and the Minnesota Campus Compact President’s Civic Engagement Steward Award.

Dr. Wolter’s scholarship spans two distinct areas of inquiry: the impact of sport media on culture and institutions and civic engagement and media literacy in communication pedagogy. Dr. Wolter’s scholarship is published in leading journals such as the International Journal of Sport Communication, Communication and Sport, the Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, and the Journal of Community Engagement in Higher Education.

Beyond the classroom, Dr. Wolter serves in a variety of institutional service roles. As an assistant coach for the Gustavus women’s golf team, she helps manage practices and team travel for regional and national tournaments, where she intentionally infuses liberal arts values to bridge the gap between student athletes’ academic and athletic pursuits. Beyond athletics, in addition to her role as Department Chair and Program Assessment Liaison for Communication Studies, she is a Title IX Adjudicator and has served as Co-Program Director of Sport Management. She also actively supports the campus community through new faculty mentoring and serving on various faculty and administrative search committees.

Outside of her professional roles, Dr. Wolter enjoys golfing, hiking, traveling, and spending time with her family and friends.

Dr. Sarah Wolter CV

Kathleen Keller is a professor of History. Keller’s research specialization is in the history of France and West Africa in the twentieth century. Keller did research in archives in Paris, Aix-en-Provence, France and Dakar, Senegal to write her first book, “Colonial Suspects: Suspicion, Imperial Rule, and Colonial Society in Interwar French West Africa.” This book, published by University of Nebraska Press uses police sources to understand police surveillance, anti-colonial activity, and the cosmopolitan society that emerged in the cities of French West Africa in the 1920s and 1930s. 

Keller’s latest book project, “A Magnificent Fraud: An African Life in Twentieth Century France,” under contract with Louisiana State University Press, considers the life of Alioune Kane, an African migrant to France who reinvented himself many times over decades, especially during the German occupation during World War II. The book manuscript provides new insight into what it meant to be a Black Frenchmen and traces the story through the Second World War when Kane faced dangerous choices.

Keller has published academic articles in the journals French Historical Studies, French Colonial History, and the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. She has also published public history essays in the Washington Post.

Keller’s teaching at Gustavus covers a wide range of topics in world, imperial, European, African, and women’s history. Her favorite courses to teach delve into complex and morally fraught moments of twentieth century history—France under Nazi Occupation and South Africa and Apartheid. She most enjoys working with students to improve their writing and to find research topics that match their personal interests. 

At Gustavus since 2011, Keller also serves as the director of the African/African Diaspora Studies program and director of Writing across the Curriculum. 
 

Anna Hulseberg has more than 20 years of experience teaching Gustavus students information literacy, which the Association of College & Research Libraries defines as “the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning” (Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education). Anna’s teaching ranges from course-integrated library instruction sessions to individual and group research consultations. She works with students in a variety of disciplines over their time at Gustavus, from First Term Seminars to upper level courses in the majors. Anna’s work also includes building a library collection that reflects the range of liberal arts scholarship and supports student research within the College curriculum. Over the years, she has enjoyed helping Gustavus students work to attain their full potential, with a special emphasis on facilitating their dispositions as lifelong learners and ethical consumers and creators of information.

Anna’s areas of research include information literacy, librarians in mentoring and advising, and librarianship as a profession (with an emphasis on electronic resources management). Her research has been published in journals such as College & Undergraduate Libraries, the Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, and College & Research Libraries News, and presented at venues including the American Library Association Annual Conference, Minnesota Library Association Annual Conference, and the Brick & Click Academic Library Conference. Anna is active in library science professional associations, having served on the boards of the Minnesota Library Association and its Academic and Research Libraries Division.

Anna’s involvement in the College has included service on a number of faculty committees, including the Faculty Personnel Committee, Faculty Development Committee (past chair), and Academic Operations Committee (past co-chair). She participates in collegial management of the Library and Archives department as co-Program Assessment Liaison (PAL) and on departmental committees. Anna works to celebrate Gustavus students’ achievements in the liberal arts as a past officer and active member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.