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Dr. Jeff Ford has been a visiting assistant professor of mathematics at Gustavus since 2016. He has taught almost every mathematics course offered at Gustavus. His research is in topology, dynamical systems, and mathematics education. Dr. Ford has supervised three honors theses, two interdisciplinary research projects, and six independent studies. He has co-authored two books in dynamical systems and one in linear algebra. He is committed to providing open access educational materials to students and encouraging teachers to use active and inclusive pedagogy. To that end, he has presented more than 20 times at conferences on active learning and alternative grading. 

Jeff Jenson joined Gustavus in August 2007, bringing extensive experience in archives development, public service, and education. In his role, he is dedicated to building and strengthening archival collections, improving access to historical materials, and ensuring the long-term preservation of vital records. Deeply committed to public service and education, he works to connect communities with information resources and assists researchers in fostering meaningful engagement with archival materials. He also collaborates closely with faculty and students, developing instructional sessions that promote the effective use of primary sources and research tools in academic settings.

Embracing the diverse nature of the liberal arts tradition, Jenson’s research interests span a wide range of topics, with his most recent publications and presentations exploring the history of timber rattlesnakes in Minnesota. He is an active member of the archival and library communities, presenting or facilitating sessions at the Midwest Archives Conference, Twin Cities Archives Round Table (TCART), Brick & Click Academic Library Conference, and the ACRL Conference. In addition, Jeff serves as a researcher with the DNA Doe Project.

Beyond his professional affiliations, Jenson is heavily involved in institutional leadership at the College. He has served as Chair of the Library and Archives Department and actively contributes to the campus community through his service on numerous faculty committees. His campus involvement has included roles on the Faculty Senate, the Adjudication Board, Third-Year Review Committee, as a Liberal Arts Search Committee Representative for several searches, and as a faculty representative on the Conduct Board.

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. Justin Knoepfel, recipient of the Dr. Carlo A. Sperati Award, joined the Gustavus faculty in 2009. He currently serves as the Chair of the Department of Music, conductor of the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra (GSO), and instructor of viola. Transitioning from a career as a professional string player to the podium, Dr. Knoepfel brings a deep understanding of technical complexity and expressive nuance to his conducting, providing a rigorous yet engaging experience for his ensembles.

Beyond campus, Dr. Knoepfel is a highly sought-after clinician, guest conductor, and adjudicator. He recently served as the guest festival conductor for the Dorian Orchestra Festival. Under his leadership, the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra maintains a robust performance schedule—including high-profile events like Christmas in Christ Chapel and the Nobel Conference—and tours annually. The GSO embarks on international tours every four years, with the most recent journey to Ireland and Scotland.

As an accomplished violist, Dr. Knoepfel’s performance credits include the Minnesota Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, and the South Dakota, Mankato, and La Crosse Symphony Orchestras. His artistry has taken him across the United States and Europe, performing at prestigious venues. He frequently collaborates with members of the Minnesota Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. A dedicated educator, he has served on the faculty for programs such as the Lutheran Summer Music Academy, MNSOTA Summer String Camp, and the International Viola Congress. His freelance career is equally diverse, ranging from sharing the stage with legends like The Eagles and Idina Menzel to performing privately for King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden.

Dr. Knoepfel resides with his wife, Elisa, and their five children. The household is completed by Regan, a Bernedoodle, and Avery, a Ragdoll cat. Above all his professional achievements, family remains the center of his life.

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.
 

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Priscilla Briggs is a professor of Art & Art History, the advisor for the Film & Media Arts major, and supports the Film & Media Studies interdisciplinary program. Priscilla teaches Digital Photography, Video Art, Graphic Design, the Zines for Sustainability challenge seminar, and the Arts Now professional practice seminar for junior art majors. 

She enjoys teaching within the liberal arts mission of Gustavus and guiding students in their experience of the visual arts as both an intuitive and intellectual process that contributes to well-being and supports our curiosity as human beings. She enjoys collaborating with students and has led multiple faculty/student summer research projects.

Priscilla is a practicing artist who investigates the intersections of capitalism, identity, social justice and the environment through photography, collage and book-making. Her research has been supported by numerous grants, most notably the McKnight Foundation, the Puffin Foundation, and the Minnesota State Arts Board. Her work has been exhibited internationally at venues such as the Saatchi Gallery in London, the Landskrona Photo Salon in Sweden, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, the Musei San Domenico in Forlì, Italy, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. 

Her artist monograph, Impossible Is Nothing: China’s Theater of Consumerism, was published by Daylight Books. Many images from the book were created during artist residencies at the Chinese European Art Center in Xiamen and Art Channel in Beijing. Priscilla recently launched Rose Bramble Books, an artist zine/book platform. Her work has been featured in print and online publications such as European Photography Magazine, Newsweek Japan, Photo District News, Hyperallergic, L’oeil de la Photographie, Lenscratch, and F-Stop Magazine. Priscilla is a member of both Rosalux Gallery and the FotoMatter Collective.

Priscilla’s research has taken her near and far from the Badlands to China and India, but her travels began in her early twenties when she taught English in Tokyo and backpacked through Southeast Asia for two years. She has led travel courses in Thailand and Ireland. Wherever she goes, she looks for the nearest hiking trail.

Sharon Marquart is a Professor of French and Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, and she also serves as Director of the Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies Program. Dr. Marquart is also affiliated with the Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies Program, the Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies Program, and the Comparative Literature Program. At Gustavus, she teaches courses on global French cinema, graphic novels, and literature, as well as topics such as the Holocaust, revolution and rebellion, feminist philosophy, disability, and trauma testimony. In May term, Dr. Marquart teaches a travel course to Paris that centers the stories of marginalized communities in the city. She holds a PhD in French literature and culture from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and she has taught and studied at universities throughout the United States, Canada, and France.

Dr. Marquart’s research is located at the intersection of feminist philosophy and of literary and cultural studies. Her research has been funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Lurcy Foundation, and she frequently collaborates on it with students. She has published extensively on issues of gender and trauma in Nazi camp testimonies and, most recently, on the AIDS crisis in the Caribbean. Dr. Marquart is the author of On the Defensive: Reading the Ethical in Nazi Camp Testimonies (University of Toronto Press, 2015), co-editor (with David Caron of the University of Michigan) of a volume of essays published in France on Auschwitz survivor Charlotte Delbo, and her work has been published in The Routledge Companion to Literature and Trauma, French Forum, H-France Forum, The Romanic Review, Ethnologies, and various essay collections on World War II and the Holocaust. She is completing a book on care that features a chapter co-authored with her former student at Gustavus, Ellie Hartmann. Please contact Dr. Marquart for current student research opportunities related to her work.

Dr. Marquart’s interests outside of the classroom include camping, gardening, photography, all things cats, and travel, especially in the French-speaking world. She is an advocate for students, faculty, and staff of all backgrounds and abilities and welcomes discussion about ways to create more inclusive and just communities on campus and beyond.

A Minnesota native, Steve Mellema received his undergraduate degree (with majors in physics and mathematics) from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1972. Following his graduation, he spent six years in Malaysia as a teacher and trainer with the United States Peace Corps. He subsequently attended graduate school at Ohio University, receiving a Ph.D. in experimental nuclear physics in 1983. 

Following postdoctoral positions at Ohio University and the University of Wisconsin, he joined the faculty at Gustavus in 1986. He taught in the physics department through 40 years of graduating classes, and also served three terms as chair of the department. 

As an active member of the American Association of Physics Teachers, Steve incorporated the results of physics-education research into his own teaching of physics for more than three decades, including peer instruction, cooperative-group problem solving, computer simulations, and studio methods. Steve was fortunate to receive two Fulbright Scholar appointments to Malaysia, and used them to bring some of those advancements in physics pedagogy to his adopted "second home'", teaching at the School of Physics at Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang. 

Over the years, he has also led four study-abroad courses taking Gustavus students to visit and study Malaysia. Steve retired from active teaching in 2025, and is currently a Research Professor of Physics. 

Gusties get involved with 100-plus clubs and organizations, small classes, and supportive mentors—plus time built in to explore passions beyond the classroom.

Learn how to use military education benefits at Gustavus, including eligibility, certification steps, and how military service connects to financial aid and tuition support.

Get answers to common questions and myths about Gustavus Counseling Center services, confidentiality, appointments, and what to expect during your visit.