Michelle Ramirez

Student Support Specialist

• Phone: 309-794-7211
• Email: michelleramirez@augustana.edu
• Office: Bahls CLC, Registrar 109

Specializations: Registrar

Specializations: Biology

Leticia Martinez

Office Assistant, Office of Student Inclusion and Diversity

• Email: leticiamartinez@augustana.edu
• Office: 309-794-8270

Specializations: Student inclusion and diversity, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Sharon M. Varallo

Professor of Communication Studies, Director of Augustana Prison Education Program

• Phone: 309-794-7387
• Email: SharonVarallo@augustana.edu
• Office: Old Main 104

Sharon Varallo is the executive director of the Augustana Prison Education Program (APEP), which launched in fall semester 2021.  

In that role, Dr. Varallo coordinates the grant-funded B.A .degree program to Augustana students incarcerated in the East Moline Correctional Center. APEP was implemented with generous startup monies from the Austin E. Knowlton Foundation.  

Her academic interests include the study of higher ed in prison, intercultural competence, cultural approaches to time, family communication, and social action research methods. During her career, she has published work on the scholarship of teaching and learning and on interpersonal and family communication topics.  

She has thoroughly enjoyed teaching and accompanying students in numerous off-campus programs (including in China, Japan, Peru, Mexico, Guatemala and the wilderness of Holden Village in Washington's Cascade mountains).

Specializations: Time cultures, Family, Police interrogations, False confessions, Intercultural communication

W. David Snowball

Professor of Communication Studies/ Talbott Harbour Chair

• Phone: 309-794-7581
• Email: Snowball@augustana.edu
• Office: Old Main 306

In 1984, Dr. David Snowball joined the faculty at Augustana and since has served the college in numerous roles. Currently a professor of Communication Studies, and chair of the honors program, he teaches Advertising and Social Influence, Propaganda in the 20th Century and Beyond, and Presenting with Technology. He maintains AugieComm, the department’s Linked-In group which provides an ongoing connection between students and alumni. 

For a quarter of a century, Dr. Snowball competed in academic debate and coached college debate teams, including Augustana's. When he retired from that research-intensive endeavor, his interest turned to researching fund investing and fund communication strategies. 

His online newsletter, the Mutual Fund Observer, is read by about 25,000 people from 35 countries each month and has reached 2.5 million readers over the years. He has been interviewed by, and  his work has been cited in USA Today, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Business Week, BottomLine:Personal and many industry newsletters and, on the web, at Motley Fool, MSN Money, WSJ/MarketWatch and elsewhere.

Dr. Snowball lives across the Mississippi River from Augustana's campus in Davenport, Iowa. Cheryl, his other half, is the chief information officer for Eastern Iowa Community Colleges and his son Will, his other other half, is beginning graduate school in psychology.

Specializations: Mutual funds, Mass persuasion