Kelly Noack ’02

Assistant Vice President of Individual Giving and Estate Gift Planning

• Phone: 309-794-7474
• Email: kellynoack@augustana.edu
• Office: Sorensen Advancement Office

Kelly directs the alumni and parent relations program including Homecoming, Family Weekend, Alumni Weekend, the Parents Council, Alumni Board of Directors and regional events for alumni, parents and friends. 

Specializations: Advancement

Chris Myers ’91

Director of Development Research

• Phone: 309-794-7337
• Email: chrismyers@augustana.edu
• Office: Sorensen

Chris researches sources of financial support, develops reporting tools, analyzes trends, oversees the prospect management system, and works closely with gift officers in support of their regional work with alumni, parents and friends.

Specializations: Advancement

Chris Loula ’88

Annual Giving Assistant

• Phone: 309-794-7726
• Email: christineloula@augustana.edu
• Office: Sorensen Advancement Office

Chris works closely with the Director of Annual Giving in support of the college's annual giving program.

Specializations: Advancement

Sheri L. Curran

General Counsel

• Phone: 309-794-8058
• Email: SheriCurran@augustana.edu
• Office: Bahls Campus Leadership Center 112

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Sheri Curran '93 serves as general counsel for Augustana College, reporting directly to the president and the Board of Trustees. She manages the college's legal affairs, ensuring compliance with state and federal education regulations. Curran also serves as the board secretary for the Augustana College Board of Trustees. Her leadership navigating complex legal challenges helps the institution focus on its mission of education. 

Curran's leadership extends across multiple areas, including safeguarding free expression and fostering inclusion on campus through initiatives such as the PEN America Principles on Campus Speech. 

Her role includes representing the college in legal proceedings, drafting and reviewing contracts, investigating complaints, and advising senior leaders to minimize institutional risk. She also oversees insurance coverage and manages compliance issues to safeguard Augustana's interests.

“The mission of the college — to provide a transformational experience for students just as it was for me — is a critical element of my job satisfaction today. Knowing that my work, which is often behind the scenes, helps to enable the Augustana student experience is so important to me.” — Sheri Curran

Recent initiatives:

• Artificial Intelligence Readiness Task Force
• Augustana College Presidential Search Committee, Administrative Liaison
• Facilitated Board of Trustees Reorganization, 2019
• Augustana partners with PEN America to support free expression
• Curran salutes outgoing board president
• Augustana Task Force on Sexual Assault Response and Prevention
• Member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys; Washington, D.C. (2010-present)

More than a leader

Sheri Curran and her husband Chris, also a lawyer, have two sons, Ben and Ryan, who are in college. Curran and her husband enjoy cooking (and eating!), and Curran will always find time for Jazzercise, one of her favorite activities.

Specializations: Compliance, Governance, Fiduciary responsibilities

Kent Barnds

Executive Vice President for Strategy and Innovation

• Phone: 309-794-7662
• Email: wkentbarnds@augustana.edu
• Office: Seminary 108

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Kent Barnds oversees enrollment management functions, including admissions, financial aid, and communication and marketing. He also leads the college’s strategic planning efforts. Since joining Augustana in 2005 as the vice president of enrollment, he has contributed to record-breaking student enrollments, and his role has evolved to leading in campus innovation and building new institutional partnerships. 

Barnds is a respected figure in higher education, serving on the EAB Enrollment 360 Advisory Group and the national CASE Commission for Communications and Marketing. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and has contributed regularly to Inside Higher Education and The Chronicle of Higher Education. Prior to Augustana, he spent 13 years at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, advancing to become the dean of admissions and enrollment management.

"Strategy and innovation are keys to unlocking sustainable growth and long-term success for Augustana." — W. Kent Barnds

Recent initiatives:

• Taking a leadership role in the college's 2024 strategic plan, Bold & Boundless, and co-authoring the Augustana 2020 strategic plan
• Establishing the President's Advisory Council as a pipeline for trustee service
• Cultivating The Gerber Grand Challenge in Philanthropy, a $40 million commitment from Murry Gerber '75 
• With the Gerber endowment, developing the vision for Augustana Possible — meeting 100% demonstrated financial need for high-achieving students with demonstrated need
• Co-chairing the Presidential Transition Committee for Andrea Talentino, Augustana’s ninth president
• Serving as acting president during President Emeritus Steve Bahls’ sabbatical in 2012 
• Leading the task force behind the vision for the Gerber Center for Student Life
• Kent Barnds to lead strategy, innovation at Augustana College
• Academic Impressions articles by W. Kent Barnds
• Inside Higher Ed articles by W. Kent Barnds

More than a leader

Kent Barnds was born in Gering, Neb. He and his wife, Jennie, have three children, Martha, Sophie and Ben. Kent and Jennie are members of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Davenport, Iowa. Kent enjoys traveling, cooking, jazz, Lyle Lovett, the Grateful Dead and cycling, and he believes "the option" remains the most exciting styled football offense. 

His expertise as a consultant ranges from performance management in college admissions to strategic planning for blood centers across the United States. Active in the community, Barnds served for nine years on the Rivermont Collegiate Board of Trustees; the Alumni Board of Directors for eight years at his alma mater, Gettysburg College; the Davenport Community Schools Board of Education; and the United Way Quad Cities.

A prolific writer and higher-ed thought leader, Barnds has published articles and/or been featured in Inside Higher Education, The Chronicle of Higher Education, University Business Magazine, U.S. News & World Report and The Wall Street Journal, among others.

Specializations: College admissions, Financial aid, Higher education marketing, Public relations, Strategic planning, Higher education leadership, Admissions staff development, Admissions, Communication and marketing

Jennifer E. Popple

Associate Professor and Co-Chair of Theatre

• Phone: 309-794-7171
• Email: JenniferPopple@augustana.edu
• Office: Brunner 223

Dr. Popple is an associate professor of Theatre and co-chair of the Theatre Department.

Prior to joining the Augustana Faculty, Dr. Popple taught at Knox College and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

In addition to her educational interests, Dr. Popple has acted and directed in educational and professional stage productions, including Beaumarchais' Figaro, William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive, and Eric Bogosian's subUrbia. Dr. Popple has also served as a production dramaturg for a variety of plays, including William Shakespeare's Macbeth and Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun and has presented her work at a number of professional Theatre conferences.

Her publishing record includes chapters and her forthcoming book, Spectacular Bodies, will connect England's first actresses to the social and political changes of the 17th century. Dr. Popple is a member of the American Theatre in Higher Education association.

Specializations: Theatre, Gender, Dramaturgy, Theatre history, Restoration theatre, Restoration actress, Feminist theories, Masculinity studies, Women playwrights

Jeffrey L. Coussens

Professor and Co-Chair of Theatre

• Phone: 309-794-7320
• Email: JeffCoussens@augustana.edu
• Office: Brunner 222

Prior to joining the Augustana faculty Coussens taught at the School of Drama, Oklahoma University.  During his 25-year academic career he has directed over 50 stage productions and acted in more than thirty roles. 

He has also worked as a professional actor and director at a variety of venues including the Oklahoma Shakespeare Festival, Brown County Playhouse, Black Hills Playhouse, Street Players Theatre, and Dollar Stock Summer Theatre. Coussens has also done work in voice-overs, commercials, film and web-video.

His special area of interest is stage combat. He is a member of the Society of American Fight Directors and he has choreographed fight scenes for many Shakespeare productions including Othello, As You Like It, Hamlet, and Macbeth. He is also a member of the Illinois Theatre Association, Theatre Communications Group, and the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. 

Specializations: Stage combat, Acting, Directing, Theatre

Jeanneth Vázquez

Professor of Spanish

• Phone: 309-794-7670
• Email: JeannethVazquez@augustana.edu
• Office: Denkmann 124

I obtained a Ph.D on Hispanic American Literature at The Ohio State University.  At Augustana, I teach courses on Latin American Literature, Culture and Civilization of Hispanic America, and Latin American Women Writers. 

I am the founder of the Hispanic Film Festival and the sponsor of the "Vázquez-Valarezo Poetry Award," which I created in memory of my parents.  This award if bestowed every year, along with other awards given by the Women and Gender Studies Program, to the best submission on a topic related to women.

I was born in Ecuador.  Even before I could read and write, I knew I wanted to be involved in the world of Letters. My parents were reading poetry to me since my early childhood and we in the family discussed daily affairs, politics, economics, Literature at the table during meals.  So, writing was my first most urgent interest in life. 

My profession, I decided, would be as a journalist.  I obtained a degree in Journalism at the Universidad Central del Ecuador.  I worked for several newspapers and magazines in Ecuador.   My first job was as an Assistant Editor and as an Art and Theater Critic.  Later on, I worked as a Reporter on issues of national interest; and then, as a Reporter of Economic Affairs.   I was also a member of the Literary Group "Tientos y Diferencias". I have published short-stories in literary magazines in Ecuador, and a poetry book: Bajé a Vivir.

In my poetry, I speak about my experiences in the world and of my relationship with the universe and men: men conceived in universal terms, as human beings and also as males.  I speak about hopelessness and fear, about my frustration and anguish, about friendship, of my happy moments, about procreation and death.  That is to say, about all those things that separate us from each other, and of those that bring us together - about those things that identify us all as human, the beings who live in this populated corner of our galaxy.

Specializations: Hispanic American literature, Latin America, Spanish literature, Gender and women studies, Latin American women writers, Women's studies, Gender studies

Jeff Renaud

Associate Professor of Spanish, Chair of Institutional Review Board

• Phone: 309-794-7671
• Email: JeffreyRenaud@augustana.edu
• Office: Denkmann 105

Pronouns: he/him; Spanish: él/lo

Gender-Inclusive Language Resources

Jeff Renaud is an associate professor in the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures at Augustana College, specializing in linguistics, Spanish phonology, phonological theory and phonetics.

His current research examines coda sibilants in Brazilian Portuguese and irregular stress patterns in Italian verbal paradigms.

Specializations: Spanish phonology, Linguistics, Phonological theory, Phonetics