New Faculty Directory 2024-25
Augustana welcomes the following faculty for the 2024-25 school year.
Sulina S. Baek
Assistant Professor
Department of Music
B.M., Flute Performance, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
M.M., Orchestral Instruments – Flute, Mannes School of Music
D.M.A., Musical Arts in Flute Performance, University of Hartford – The Hartt School
Born in South Korea, Dr. Sulina Baek started piano at age 6 and her mother’s flute at age 12. A passionate orchestral player, she has performed with the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, New Britain Symphony Orchestra, The Orchestra Now, Nutmeg Symphony, Montclair Symphony Orchestra, Chelsea Symphony Orchestra, Astoria Choir Orchestra and Loft Opera. She has also participated in the Sarasota Music Festival, The Orchestra of the Americas Academy, and Napa Valley Festival Orchestra as a fellow. Dr. Baek’s talent has earned recognition in competitions including the American Protégé International Woodwind Competition, New Jersey Young Artist Competition, Alexander and Buono International Flute Competition, Nancy Crew Eller Artist Competition, New York Flute Club Competition, Atlanta Flute Club Young Artist Competition, and many others. In her free time, she studies German with the goal of fluency.
Melissa Baker
Professional Faculty
Instructor and Clinical Supervisor
Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders
B.A., Speech and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University
M.S., Speech-Language Pathology, Rush University in Chicago
Melissa Baker rejoins Augustana this fall as full-time professional faculty, following a year as a part-time clinical supervisor during the 2021-2022 academic year. Her career journey began in adult neurological rehabilitation settings in Chicago. Transitioning through pediatric outpatient therapy to school-based speech-language pathology services, she has gained extensive experience across diverse clinical environments. Her current clinical passions center on language and literacy, integrating literacy-based approaches into speech and language therapy, and early childhood language development. Outside of work, she is an avid reader and enjoys traveling to support her children’s pursuits.
Justin R. Bankert
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Physics, Engineering, and Astronomy
B.S., Physics and Math, Purdue University
M.A., Physics, Johns Hopkins University
Ph.D., Physics, Johns Hopkins University
Dr. Justin Bankert’s research is focused on creating and analyzing computer simulations of the effects of circumbinary accretion disks on the evolution of the orbital characteristics of the central binary. He started his teaching career as a visiting assistant professor at Angelo State University. He then worked as an assistant professor at Troy University. Family concerns brought him back to the Midwest where he worked as an adjunct professor at Oakton College. Dr. Bankert is excited to join the Augustana community as a visiting assistant professor.
Jonas Björk
Visiting Professor
Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures – Scandinavian Studies
B.A., Communications (Editorial Journalism), University of Washington
M.A., Communications, University of Washington
Ph.D., Communications, University of Washington
Dr. Jonas Björk has taught journalism at Indiana-Purdue in Indianapolis for 35 years, earning five excellence-in-teaching awards. His research has focused on the Swedish immigrant press in the United States and on the presence of U.S. media and popular culture in Sweden. He is the co-author of two books and single author of numerous journal articles and book chapters and has collaborated with colleagues in Sweden, Finland, Canada and Germany on various research projects. In 2012, he was the Fulbright Distinguished Scholar in American Studies at Uppsala University in Sweden. Dr. Björk has been a member of the advisory committee for the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center for more than 20 years.
Jaehyuk Choi
Adjunct Instructor
Department of Music
B.M., Voice Performance, Hanyang University
M.M., Voice Performance, Lamart University
D.M.A. (expected completion in 2024), Voice Performance, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Jaehyuk Choi is currently ABD in pursuing a D.M.A. in voice performance at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has been a prizewinner in numerous vocal competitions, including the 14th Lois Alba International Aria Competition (Robin Angly and Miles Smith Award and 1st Place Max Locher Audience Choice Award), first prize at the Greater Houston NATS Competition, the Daegu Vocal Music Competition, and the Belvedere International Competition Seoul chapter, among others. Choi has performed opera roles such as Roberto in Le Villi, Alfredo in La Traviata, Alfred in Die Fledermaus and Tamino in The Magic Flute. As a soloist, he has performed in Handel’s Messiah, Schumann’s Requiem and Bruckner’s Te Deum. He moved to Silvis, Ill., with his wife this summer.
Michael Downey
Visiting Assistant Professor
Data Analytics Program
B.S., Industrial Engineering, University of Iowa
M.B.A., Business Administration, University of Iowa
M.S., Data Analytics, University of Iowa
Erin Elgin
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Business Administration
B.A., English/Biological Sciences, University of Iowa
M.B.A., Business Administration/IT Management, University of Connecticut
Hisham Bravo Groover
Assistant Professor
Department of Music
B.A., Violin Performance, Loyola University
M.M., Violin Pedagogy, Western Kentucky University M.A., Orchestral Conducting, University of Iowa A.D., Orchestral Conducting, University of Denver
D.M.A., (expected completion September 2024), Orchestral Conducting, University of Minnesota
Hisham Bravo Groover, conductor and violinist, is the incoming director of orchestral activities. In addition to leading the Augustana symphony and chamber orchestras, he will teach violin. Concurrently, Groover is the assistant conductor for the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and the music director for the Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles. Before moving to the Quad Cities, he spent the past decade serving a range of orchestras across Minnesota, Colorado and Iowa. Recently, he has participated in conducting competitions in Norway and Hungary. His doctoral thesis focuses on the composer Benjamin Britten, exploring parallels between his life and music through musical code and symbolism in the Sinfonia da Requiem. Outside of music, Groover enjoys cooking, hiking and spending time with his wife and daughter.
Thomas W. Hammar
Part-time Assistant Professor
Department of Accounting
B.A., Accounting and Economics, Augustana College
M.B.A., Business Administration, St. Ambrose University
Tom Hammar is a 1976 graduate of Augustana where he majored in accounting and economics; he received his M.B.A. from St. Ambrose University in 1988. His career has included stints in corporate auditing and accounting. Up until two years ago, Hammar owned and operated a CPA firm here in Rock Island for 33 years. He sold his practice to Centennial Tax and Accounting in 2022 and continues to be employed there. Giving back to Augustana and to the next generation of accountants before retiring in May of next year excites Hammar. He has been married to Susan (they met at Augie) for 46 years, and they have two grown children, Molly and John, and six grandchildren. He is a lifetime runner, loves to read and is an active member of his church and Rock Island Rotary.
Anne X. Heide
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Art
B.A., Studio Art and Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, Grinnell College
Graduate Certificate, Book Arts, University of Iowa Center for the Book
M.F.A. Fiber/Textiles, University of Kansas
Anne Heide is an artist and fiber art educator. In their current work, they consider the excess of usable clothing being produced due to global capitalism alongside the rigid gender and class norms that clothing embodies. They salvage donated secondhand clothes that are unlikely to find a new wearer, whether because they are worn out, defective or are simply an unpopular style. Drawing on the generally unremarkable forms of everyday clothes and garment racks, they transform these unwanted clothes into artworks that create unexpected connections between different parts of the lifecycle of a garment and moments in textile history, and between different articles of clothing. To make these works, they utilize American craft practices that historically repurposed old clothing such as quilting, rag rug making and hand papermaking, alongside contemporary digital weaving and garment construction techniques. In their free time, they enjoy bicycling, cooking and spending time with friends.
Michael T. Hickey
Part-time Assistant Professor
Department of Accounting
B.A., Accounting, Business Administration – Finance, and Economics, Augustana College
Master of Science in Quantitative Management (MSQM) – Business Analytics, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business
Michael Hickey is an analytical professional that lives and works in Muscatine, Iowa. While he has had many roles in finance, accounting and analytics, he is currently a senior merchandising manager responsible for seating, quickship and product assortments at HNI Corporation. He is particularly interested in using both financial data and qualitative insights from the market to drive impactful business decisions. He is looking forward to sharing this interest with advanced managerial accounting students at Augustana. He has earned CMA (Certified Management Accountant) and CSCA (Certified in Strategy and Competitive Analysis) certificates from the Institute of Management Accountants. In his spare time, Hickey is an assistant varsity basketball coach at Muscatine High School and enjoys lifting weights, running and playing flag football and basketball. He also enjoys spending time with his fox red Labrador, Hobbs.
Jamie D. Hill
Part-time Instructor
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
B.A., Physics, Augustana College
M.S., Computer Science, Marycrest University
Dong Yeol Hong
Part-time Assistant Professor
Department of Music
B.M., Cello Performance, Cleveland Institute of Music
M.M., Cello Performance, Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University
D.M.A., Music Performance – Cello, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
Dr. Dong Yeol Hong has appeared as a soloist with the Korea National Orchestra and Moscow Pre-College Chamber Orchestra, among others. As an active performer and educator, he has performed and conducted master classes at various universities, including Indiana University, Indiana State University, Delta State University, Mississippi University for Women and Northwestern State University. Dr. Hong also taught at Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and Louisiana Tech University. Most recently, he was on the faculty at Indiana State University School of Music as a string chamber ensemble instructor.
Erin J. Hopkins
Assistant Professor
Department of Music
B.M., Music Education, University of Michigan
M.Ed., Mind, Brain, and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Ph.D., Music Education, Case Western Reserve University
Dr. Erin Hopkins specializes in general music methods and assessment in music education. She taught elementary general music for eight years in Michigan and Ohio, spending the majority of her career teaching in urban and Title 1 public schools. She has also taught middle school general music, beginning orchestra and beginning band. She created the Music Makers program for Gigi’s Playhouse Cleveland, a nonprofit organization that provides free educational and therapeutic programming for children and adults with Down Syndrome, which is now available across the organization’s national network. Dr. Hopkins’ research is interdisciplinary, focusing on intersections between neurodiversity studies, music cognition and music education praxis. Outside of music and academia, she enjoys rock climbing, crafting and vegetable gardening.
Naveen Kumar Jain
Assistant Professor
Department of Business of Administration
B.S., Chemistry, Delhi University
M.B.A., Indian Institute of Management
Ph.D., Business Administration, Florida International University
Dr. Naveen Kumar Jain, who is from India, has 10 years of corporate experience in India in various fields, such as private equity, marketing and strategic planning. Dr. Jain took his first overseas trip to Miami in January 2006 to do his Ph.D. in business administration and finished in December 2009. That trip changed the course of his life. He is grateful to have lived and worked in four countries — the United States, the Netherlands, India, Oman — as well as the city of Dubai. In the United States, Dr. Jain has lived in Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Ohio. His hobby is to shop. He is grateful to be part of the Augie family.
Elizabeth D. Leal-Alfaro
Assistant Professor
Kinesiology Program
B.S., Kinesiology EC-12 P.E. Certification with emphasis Biology, Texas A&M University
M.S., Kinesiology with emphasis Sport & Exercise Science, Texas A&M University
Ph.D. (expected completion in 2024), Health, Leisure, and Human Performance, Oklahoma State University
Elizabeth Leal-Alfaro is a doctoral candidate in health and human performance at Oklahoma State University where she has been involved with research for tactical population/first responders. Her primary research focus is on female athletes and, as a former boxer and current Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) competitor, has a special interest in combat sports (i.e., wrestling, BJJ, KB, MMA, etc.). Utilizing her background as an educator, she believes that every student deserves a life-changing education that is provided through a safe and positive learning environment. Leal-Alfaro looks forward to providing her students with the tools necessary to succeed in the paths provided through kinesiology. In her spare time, she enjoys working with the NEAR Science community, BJJ training and watching movies with her spouse and two cats.
Zhengyi Li
Assistant Professor
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
B.S., Electrical Engineering, Huaqiao University
M.S., Intelligent Systems Engineering, Indiana University Bloomington
Ph.D. (expected completion in 2024), Intelligent Systems Engineering, Indiana University Bloomington
Brittany McCall
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
B.S., Biology, Austin Peay State University
M.S., Biology, Arkansas State University
Ph.D., Environmental Sciences, Arkansas State University
Chloe K. McGehee
Instructor and Clinical Supervisor
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
B.S., Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Mississippi
M.S., Speech-Language Pathology, St. Ambrose University
Kimberly Rooney
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures – French
B.A., French, Africana Studies, Secondary Education, Luther College
M.A., French, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Ph.D., French, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Kimberly Rooney is an educator of language, literature and culture of the French-speaking world. Her research draws on concepts of decolonial praxis, postcolonial theory, childhood studies and critical pedagogy to interrogate the school and its representations in sub-Saharan African French-language literature. She brings with her experience as the Africana and Francophone Studies librarian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, consulting with students, faculty and community users of the library to access relevant and unique collections that bolster their research. She is also interested in public humanities and promoting humanistic dispositions beyond the classroom, into engagements with both local and global communities. Rooney enjoys knitting, playing volleyball, watching sports, doing crosswords, and doting on her niece and nephew.
Nick P. Scalora
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
B.S., Biology, Doane University
Ph.D., Molecular Medicine, University of Iowa
Dr. Nick Scalora studies the role of topoisomerase II in cancer progression and metastasis. Outside of the lab, he enjoys watching and playing soccer and spending time with his wife, Lindsay, and their dog, Winston.
Charlotte A. Shepherd
Professional Faculty Instructor
Department of Education
B.S.W., Social Work, Western Illinois University
M.A., Elementary Education, Western Governors University
Charlotte Shepherd has 14 years of experience in K-12 education, including 10 years of classroom teaching in Quad-City area schools. She specializes in science education, and has a strong interest in inclusive teaching practices in STEM classrooms. Her two children and Standard Poodle claim most of her free time, but when nap times synchronize, she enjoys cooking and reading. She also loves birding and kayaking with her husband.
Dorian A. Smith
Diversity Fellow
Visiting Instructor
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
B.S., Mathematics, University of Arizona
M.S., Mathematics, California State University M.S., Mathematics, University of Minnesota
Ph.D. Candidate (expected completion in 2025), Mathematics, University of Minnesota
Dorian Smith is a passionate mathematics educator and researcher. Her research area is algebraic combinatorics. Her favorite mathematical objects include sandpile groups and parking functions. She has taught classes at Cal State LA, University of Minnesota and University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. When spare time exists, she enjoys watching television, listening to podcasts, traveling and hiking.
José D. Wilches
Professional Faculty
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics, Engineering and Astronomy
B.S., Civil Engineering, Corporación Universitaria Rafael Núñez, Columbia
M.S., Structural & Geotechnical Engineering, Pontificia Universadad Católica de Chile, Chile
Ph.D., Structural Engineering, Pontificia Universadad Católica de Chile, Chile
Ph.D., Structural Engineering, Virginia Tech
Dr. José Wilches’ professional experience spans consulting and construction, where he has worked across various sectors, including industrial, buildings and infrastructure. Recently, his focus has shifted toward research in structural engineering and building consulting, with two primary areas of interest: seismic bridge engineering and compost structures. Beyond his academic pursuits, he is the founder and incumbent president of the Building Everyone’s Future Foundation (www.construyendoelfuturotodos.org), which provides training and support for children, youth and women in marginalized Afro-American communities.