Erika Mikita

Career Coach

• Phone: 309-794-7430
• Email: erikalindstrom@augustana.edu

Erika Mikita is the career coach for the accounting, business and management, communications, marketing and sales fields of interest.

Erika also manages the student employment program, helping students connect with on-campus employment.  Erika is a person-centered advocate excited to help Augustana students learn more about who they are and how they can use their strengths to build a foundation for success.

Specializations: CORE

Lendol G. Calder

Professor of History

• Phone: 309-794-7679
• Email: LendolCalder@augustana.edu
• Office: Old Main 325

A native of Texas, Lendol Calder's bachelor of arts degree is from the University of Texas at Austin where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1980.

A scholar of the history of American consumerism, Calder's 1999 book "Financing the American Dream: A Cultural History of Consumer Credit" was hailed by the Wall Street Journal as "deliciously seditious" for the ways it inverted common assumptions about the meaning of credit in American life.

Calder's scholarship also appears in "Thrift and Thriving in America: Capitalism and Moral Order from the Puritans to the Present" (Oxford, 2011) and "The Oxford Handbook of the History of Consumption" (Oxford, 2012).

An accomplished teacher, Calder is also a leader in the growing movement to bring scholarly modes of inquiry to teaching and learning in higher education. In 1999, he was chosen by the Carnegie Foundation to be a Fellow at the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

Calder's research, published in the March 2006 issue of the Journal of American History, examines the problem of "coverage" in introductory courses and is part of a larger effort to forge a new "signature pedagogy" for the discipline of history.

His work as a Carnegie Scholar has made him a popular speaker, presenter, and consultant on topics related to historical thinking and the teaching of undergraduates.

His current consulting projects include serving on the test committee for the College Board's Subject Test in US History and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Measuring College Learning Project (MCL). 

Dr Calder enjoys mountaineering and backcountry skiing and is often spotted on the roads preparing for his next marathon or ultramarathon.

Zach Bohrer he/him

Admissions Counselor

• Phone: 309-794-7302
• Email: zachbohrer@augustana.edu
• Office: Seminary 112

Schedule a meeting with Zach

What do you most love to tell prospective students about Augustana?

That if they can dream it, at Augustana they can do it! With so many pathways for personalization during their Augustana experience, the only thing holding them back from their next big success is the ability to dream it up! Paired with an active campus community filled with opportunities for personal and professional growth inside and outside the classroom, Augustana is truly the place to be.

What is your favorite time/tradition of the Augustana school year?

There is no place like Augustana in the Fall! Taking a walk along the gorgeous slough path, sitting outside and taking in the multitude of colors around you, or enjoying a crisp fall day on campus after a week of classes, there is really nothing like it!

What's great about the Quad Cities?

There's a little bit of everything here! The Quad Cities maintain a suburban feel, while providing big city opportunities. From a diverse food scene, to a thriving live music and theater community, and even world renown science, history, and art museums, the Quad Cities always has something for everyone.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I love to travel, explore and be outside! Whether it's finding a new forest preserve or park to adventure in, or walking along the gorgeous Mississippi River!

However, on days when decompression is needed, you'll find me curled up with my cat watching some reality TV (Survivor, RuPaul's Drag Race, and The Amazing Race are a few of my favorites!).

What advice do you have for students who are searching for the right college for them?

Don't forget that this process is all about you! Ask as many questions as you need, tour as many colleges as you’re interested in, sit in classes, meet with students. Engaging with schools in multiple ways helps you narrow down your options, but more importantly makes sure you end up at a place where you want to go, but is also going to allow you to flourish to your fullest potential!

Specializations: Admissions

Nicole Sexton

Advisor and Coordinator of Retention Initiatives

• Email: nicolesexton@augustana.edu

Specializations: Learning Commons

José Wilches

Professional Faculty and Assistant Professor of Physics, Engineering, and Astronomy

• Phone: 309-794-7842
• Email: josewilches@augustana.edu
• Office: Hanson 204A

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.

Thomas Hammar

Part-Time Assistant Professor of Accounting

• Phone: 309-794-7542; 309-235-4703
• Email: tomhammar@augustana.edu
• Office: Sorensen 261

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. He can also be reached at tom@hammarcpa.com.

Jonas Björk

Visiting Professor of Scandinavian Studies

• Phone: 309-794-8280
• Email: jonasbjork@augustana.edu
• Office: Denkmann 112

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.

Melissa Baker

Professional Faculty, Instructor and Clinical Supervisor

• Phone: 309-794-7273
• Email: melissabaker@augustana.edu
• Office: Brodahl 210

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.

Specializations: Public Safety

Hisham Bravo Groover

Assistant Professor of Music

• Phone: 309-794-7411
• Email: hishambravogroover@augustana.edu
• Office: Bergendoff 28

Hisham Bravo Groover is the Director of Orchestral Studies and Violin instructor at Augustana College. Additionally, he serves as Assistant Conductor of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles.

Before moving to the Quad Cities, Mr. Groover lived in Minnesota where he served as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonic Conductor of the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies (GTCYS), Music Director and Conductor of the Buffalo Community Orchestra, and Assistant Conductor of the University of Minnesota Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theatre. Additional experiences include roles as Associate Conductor of the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra (CO), Assistant Conductor of the Arapahoe Philharmonic (CO), Assistant Conductor of the Lamont Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theatre (CO), and Conductor of the University of Iowa Chamber Orchestra (IA).

Mr. Groover displays impressive versatility in his concerts, equally at ease with pops and educational programs as he is with masterworks. He has also conducted and assisted in numerous opera productions, including Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Strauss Jr.’s Die Fledermaus. Thoughtful in his programming, he aims to create concerts that resonate with modern audiences. In 2024, he curated and conducted a program that integrated the music of Hildegard von Bingen, Steve Reich, and Charles Ives with Mozart’s Requiem.

Abroad, Mr. Groover has competed in two international conducting competitions. In 2023, he was invited to the 1st International Ferenc Fricsay Conducting Competition in Szeged, Hungary. In 2022, he was a semi-finalist in the Princess Astrid International Music Competition in Trondheim, Norway.

As a violinist, Mr. Groover studied with several pedagogues, including Michel Boris Zaitzeff, Ching-Yi Lin, and Mark Rush. As a conductor, he has had the privilege to study with Leonid Grin, Kevin Noe, William LaRue Jones, and his principal mentor, Mark Russell Smith.

Specializations: Orchestra, Violin