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Prior to joining the Gustavus faculty in 1990, Mark worked in broadcasting. He brings extensive administrative experience spanning more than 15 years, including nine years as Chief Academic Officer—serving as Provost at Gustavus Adolphus College and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Augustana University. He previously held the position of Associate Dean of the College at Gustavus for seven years.

Mark has an extensive record of service to the field of higher education and was recognized nationally by the Council of Independent Colleges with its Chief Academic Officer Award. He served on the executive committee of the board of directors for the American Conference of Academic Deans, on assessment and planning teams for the Association of American Colleges and Universities, and on the board of directors for the Broadcast Education Association in Washington DC. He also chaired the board of directors of The Collaboration for the Advancement of College Teaching and Learning, and was on the executive committee of the board for the Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota. He was awarded the Outstanding Citizen Award from the City of Mankato for his work with the Department of Public Safety.

Dr. Laura Hildreth is an associate professor of statistics in the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Statistics. Her teaching at Gustavus spans the entire statistics curriculum from introductory statistics to advanced statistical modeling. Along with her statistics colleagues, Dr. Hildreth has redesigned and modernized the statistics major and minor by incorporating recommendations from the American Statistical Association. This has included developing and teaching several new courses including MCS-243: Design and Analysis of Experiments, MCS-348: Advanced Statistical Modeling, and MCS-349: Statistical Consulting.

Dr. Hildreth's scholarship encompasses various areas. Her research interests include statistics education with a focus on writing in the statistics curriculum, multivariate statistics, and statistical consulting. This work has led to multiple interdisciplinary collaborations and resulted in publications in journals such as the Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education, Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, and Statistics and Public Policy.

Outside of the classroom, Dr. Hildreth has held several service roles. This has included serving as the actuarial science adviser at Gustavus, being an AP Statistics reader since 2021, serving as the Program Chair for the Section on Statistics and Data Science Education at the 2024 Joint Statistical Meetings, and serving as the 2014-2015 President of the Montana Chapter of the American Statistical Association.

A graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College herself, Stephanie was delighted to return to her undergraduate alma mater as a professor. Stephanie teaches courses both within and beyond the Exercise Physiology major, and she finds student mentorship to be among the most rewarding aspects of her work. Her teaching philosophy is grounded in the concept of vocation, emphasizing the integration of academic learning with personal purpose. She is committed to helping students discern how their skills, values, and passions can be meaningfully applied in service to others, preparing them not only for professional success but also for lives of purpose and engagement. Research is intentionally embedded within the Exercise Physiology curriculum at Gustavus, and she regularly serves as a faculty mentor for multiple student-led, independent research projects. These projects are frequently presented at local, regional, and national conferences across the country.

Her scholarly interests focus on the relationship between physical activity and bone mineral density. Most recently, she published an article in the International Journal of Fitness titled “Step Count, Calcium Intake, and Bone Mineral Density Among Women Using Depo-Provera.”

Stephanie is an active presenter and attendee at national meetings of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), where she has earned Fellow status. She has also served on the ACSM Women, Sport, and Physical Activity Committee.

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.

Living on campus is at the heart of the Gustavus experience—close community, vibrant events, and a variety of dorms and apartments make campus feel like home from day one to graduation.

Paschal Baylon Kyiiripuo Kyoore is a professor of French, African/Caribbean Studies. He specializes in French literature of the 19th and 20th centuries, and Francophone Literatures of Africa and the Caribbean. He teaches a range of courses in French and in English. For courses taught in French, his "Francophone African/Caribbean Literatures & Cultures" course that he introduced many years ago marked the beginning of the French program shifting away from focusing on only France and French culture. Francophone cultures have since been the mainstream of courses offered by the French program, and this has made the program more attractive to students. Prof. Kyoore finds it pedagogically and professionally very enriching to teach about the cultures of francophone communities at all the levels of French courses. Also, he founded the African/African Diaspora Studies program, with the collaboration of colleagues, and also created a course in English.

Prof. Kyoore was the first Director of the African/African Diaspora Studies program. He has also served in other administrative positions such as being a co-chair of the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures & Cultures. One other service he renders to the institution is through his involvement with student organizations such as the Pan-Afrikan Student Organization (PASO). He is often invited to do an African xylophone performance at the annual Africa Night celebration organized by PASO; one of the student organizations event that attracts a large community crowd.

Besides journal articles and reviews, Prof. Kyoore has published three collections of folktales, two in English and one in French, and three critical works. He is currently working on a book on womanhood in Dagara folklore and culture. The Dagara are an ethnic group in Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast. He was a recipient of the Gustavus Faculty Scholarly Achievement award; an acknowledgement of his contributions to scholarship at the international level. Also, he was a finalist for a Fulbright Scholar grant to teach and do research abroad. His research focuses mainly on gender issues, the historical novel, and African folklore.

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.

Mary Westby is the Program Director for the Master of Athletic Training (MAT) program. She is responsible for the oversight of MAT, including working with the Clinical Education Coordinator and Research Coordinator to ensure curricular and clinical development, and implementation of the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) standards and ensuring the preparedness of students to practice independently upon graduation. She serves as one of the primary advisors for MAT current students and prospective students interested in athletic training. She teaches Foundations in Athletic Training (ATP 500), Clinical Pharmacology (NUR 337 and ATP 537 – a joint course between MAT and Nursing students), and Therapeutic Interventions in Athletic Training I and II (ATP 511 and 512).  Her favorite topic to teach is therapeutic modalities – the application of physical agents and manual therapy to treat musculoskeletal injuries. This is also a research interest of hers along with assessment of student learning in athletic training programs. 

She is also an Instructor and Instructor Trainer for the American Red Cross, regularly certifying current MAT students, undergraduate students, and campus faculty and staff in various levels of CPR training. As the advisor for the Gustavus Athletic Trainers' Association and Iota Tau Alpha, the national honor society for athletic training, Mary gets the opportunity to encourage community and professional service among the students in the ATP. She enjoys her opportunities to interact with students and other faculty inside and out of the classroom. 

Mary is originally from Waconia, MN. She enjoys spending time with her family who are still in the area, including her niece and twin nephews. Mary, her husband and their son enjoy spending summers up north, fishing, and boating. During the long winter months Mary enjoys snowshoeing. 

She is a BOC-certified athletic trainer, licensed in the state of Minnesota and a member of the National Athletic Training Association. She is involved in the athletic training profession at the national and state level as a peer reviewer for the CAATE and a member of the Minnesota Athletic Trainers Association (MATA) Governmental Affairs Committee. She is also the co-advisor of the MATA student senate.  

We're driven by the purpose and potential within every student. In everything we do, our goal is to create an environment that makes each student discover and understand their unique value in order to inspire and develop the capacity and passion for lifelong learning and service-oriented leadership.

Our students graduate equipped with not only a degree, but with skills and tools that make them ready to make a positive impact no matter where they go next—be it Wall Street, Main Street, or somewhere in between.

Jessica Helget, MS, RN, PHN is Senior Continuing Faculty in the Department of Nursing, where she serves as Simulation Faculty and teaches across the undergraduate nursing curriculum. She earned her Master of Science in Nursing Education from Saint Catherine University and her Bachelor of Arts in Nursing from Gustavus Adolphus College.

At Gustavus, Jessica leads the design, integration, and evaluation of simulation-based education across all levels of the program. Her expertise centers on high-quality clinical simulation aligned with the AACN Essentials and the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL) Standards of Best Practice. She has developed a comprehensive simulation curriculum map that scaffolds student learning from foundational skills to complex clinical judgment, ensuring students graduate practice-ready and confident. In addition to simulation, she teaches medical-surgical nursing, and pre-health professions courses, blending didactic and experiential learning.

Helget’s teaching philosophy is deeply student-centered and grounded in experiential learning theory. She intentionally creates space for reflection, critical thinking, and application, often integrating mannequins and real-time clinical decision-making into classroom case studies. Her simulations follow structured pre-briefing and debriefing models such as PEARLS and Debriefing for Meaningful Learning, fostering psychological safety while challenging students to grow. Students frequently describe her courses as engaging, rigorous, and inspiring, reflecting her commitment to excellence and enthusiasm for the profession.

Her scholarly work focuses on simulation effectiveness, debriefing methodology, and NCLEX preparation. She has published in the Journal of Nursing Education and has presented regionally on innovative simulation practices. She currently collaborates with statistics students on research examining the impact of simulation on student outcomes and clinical readiness. She is actively involved in professional organizations including the National League for Nursing and INACSL, and she is pursuing Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) credentialing to further advance simulation scholarship and mentorship at Gustavus.

Within the College, Jessica serves on the Institutional Review Board, Nobel Committee, advises the Gustavus Student Nurses Association, participates in faculty mentoring and search committees, and contributes to campus initiatives such as Wellness as a Community. She is passionate about embedding equity, inclusion, and belonging principles into simulation scenarios, preparing students to provide culturally responsive care and address health disparities.

Beyond Gustavus, Helget continues to practice as a Registered Nurse at Mayo Clinic Health System in a progressive care setting, ensuring her teaching remains grounded in current clinical practice. She is also deeply engaged in community service, including board membership with the St. Peter Free Clinic and youth mentorship through local athletics and church programs.

Jessica believes nursing education is both an art and a science. She is committed to forming compassionate, competent leaders who will serve their communities with integrity, faith, and excellence—hallmarks of a Gustavus education.

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