Faculty and Staff

Rachel Droogsma understands what its like to be in the minority.

Droogsma earned both her master鈥檚 degree and Ph.D from Howard University, a historically black university. That experience significantly shaped her personal and professional interests. Now she is teaching intercultural and gender communication classes at Nebraska Wesleyan University.

In her three years as a Nebraska Wesleyan University student Jessica Danson has studied abroad in Mexico, Germany and Estonia. Add to that her service trips to Nicaragua, Malawi, and Guatemala, and a conference in Canada, and you have to assume she鈥檚 headed for a career in international affairs.

Janae Riha knows she is living a dream by attending college. The Nebraska Wesleyan junior and her 鈥渄ream team鈥� are anxious to share their dreams with students at a nearby elementary school.

That鈥檚 just one project in the works for the residents of Nebraska Wesleyan鈥檚 new theme house 鈥� the Dream House.

When students return to Nebraska Wesleyan University on August 23, campus for the most part will look much like it did when they left in May. But summer was anything but quiet.

New theme houses were spruced up, a new outdoor track was built, new administrators got up to speed on their new responsibilities, and professors plotted out new ways to teach their courses.

The Board of Directors of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation has awarded Nebraska Wesleyan University a grant of $100,000.

The funds will be added to the existing William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship Fund at SM论坛, bringing the contributions to the Hearst Fund to $300,000.

For 11 years, Maxine Fawcett-Yeske has taught Nebraska Wesleyan University students to appreciate music.

Nebraska Wesleyan University senior Lesley Dudden already has an impressive resume.

Nebraska Wesleyan University senior Alexandra Hartmann says her heart lies in many places around the world.

She鈥檚 done service work in Malawi, Nicaragua and Guatemala with Nebraska Wesleyan鈥檚 Global Service Learning. She鈥檚 been to Montreal for the American Academy of Religion Annual Conference. She鈥檚 visited friends who are studying in various pockets of the world.

Nebraska Wesleyan University senior Erik Anderson hopes to become a licensed mental health practitioner someday.

Eight Nebraska Wesleyan University students left for Guatemala in late May expecting to spend 10 days building a house for an impoverished family.

鈥淲e mixed cement, carried cinder blocks, moved piles of sand, and some of us learned how to lay bricks,鈥� said Meera Bhardwaj, a recent SM论坛 graduate and member of the student organization Global Service Learning.

When Sandra Mathews-Benham travels to Kazakhstan someday, she鈥檒l be able to introduce herself, order a meal, and ask for directions.

鈥淪he could survive in Kazakhstan,鈥� said SM论坛 foreign exchange student Gulbanu Ibragimkyzy who has spent the past five months teaching Russian to Mathews-Benham.

This week SM论坛 biology students are practicing their diving skills in the campus swimming pool. Next week they鈥檒l put those skills to the test on the northwest coast of Roatan, Honduras where they will experience 30 miles of fringing barrier reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves and shoreline.

Whether they鈥檙e writing publications from the four walls of their home, visiting parks and forests along the Pacific Northwest, tracing the footsteps of the apostle Paul in Greece and Turkey, or collecting family stories in South Korea, several Nebraska Wesleyan University faculty are looking forward to upcoming sabbaticals that will inevitably re-energize them as professors.

Five students from Austria and Germany will study at Nebraska Wesleyan University next fall.

Their enrollment is a result of the many campus visits made by Travis and Karla Jensen.

Over the past year, the psychology department has increasingly been filled with students wearing lab coats and surgical masks. They're busy studying the behavioral traits of mice. They're conducting more animal research than any other time in recent history.

Psychology faculty and students say the increased interest can be traced to psychology professor Frank Ferraro.

Two long-time employees of the Physics Department are preparing to say goodbye after a combined 86 years of service to Nebraska Wesleyan University.

Dave Goss, professor of physics, and Beth Haring, staff assistant to the physics, mathematics and computer science departments, will retire this month.

Abby Tranel learned of Nebraska Wesleyan University鈥檚 study abroad program through her liberal arts seminar taken as a first year student.

鈥淲hen I heard about it I immediately knew I had to do it,鈥� said the senior political science major from Aurora, Neb.

Nebraska Wesleyan University student Jenna Palensky and her music professor Maxine Fawcett-Yeske spent their spring break in Ireland with 150 primary school children from over 20 countries.

As a philosophy major, Nebraska Wesleyan University graduate Nicole Spry knows its second nature for her to question and consume information.

In fact, she quickly points out that the word philosophy means 鈥渓ove of wisdom.鈥�

鈥淚 believe that in order to be a productive global citizen I need to acquire as much wisdom as possible,鈥� she said.

A retired French professor and his wife will be recognized for their dedication and support of SM论坛 theatre during the opening weekend of the production Hay Fever.

Nebraska Wesleyan University Senior Alex Bednar grew up eating Czech food and celebrating his Czech heritage. Starting next fall, he鈥檒l be immersed in the culture he鈥檚 so interested in thanks to a Fulbright Scholarship that will send him to the Czech Republic.

Nebraska Wesleyan鈥檚 Relay for Life is fast approaching.

Students, faculty, staff and community members will join in the fight against cancer. And it doesn鈥檛 take long to find a Wesleyan employee or student who has been touched by the terrible disease.

Nebraska Wesleyan University professor Kathy Wolfe has been named the new Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Wolfe 鈥� a SM论坛 alumna 鈥� is an associate professor of English and has taught at Nebraska Wesleyan since 2000.

A Nebraska Wesleyan University forensic science professor has been deployed to Haiti where she will spend two weeks working in a mobile morgue.

鈥淲e train for this,鈥� said Melissa Connor, professor and director of Nebraska Wesleyan鈥檚 Forensic Science Program. 鈥淭hese are the situations you deal with when you work in the forensic science field.鈥�