Specializations: Public Safety

Specializations: Facilities

Dianna Shandy

Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs

• Email: diannashandy@augustana.edu
• Office: Bahls Campus Leadership Center 116

Dianna Shandy on LinkedIn

Dr. Dianna Shandy serves as the provost and vice president of academic affairs at Augustana College, where she is responsible for overseeing all academic programs and faculty affairs. As the college's chief academic officer, she plays a vital role in shaping the academic vision and strategic direction for the institution. She oversees CORE — the hub for many of Augustana's high-impact practices; the Augustana Prison Education Program; and the Center for Visual Culture. Dr. Shandy joined Augustana in July 2023, bringing more than 25 years of distinguished experience in higher education leadership.

Before joining Augustana, Dr. Shandy was the inaugural interim dean of the faculty, associate provost for strategic initiatives, and a professor of anthropology at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn. In addition to her academic and administrative roles, Dr. Shandy was an American Council on Education leadership fellow at Elon University.

"My goal is to cultivate a culture that nurtures the holistic development of students, faculty, and staff. I believe in striving for excellence and never apologizing for holding ourselves to the highest standards." — Dr. Dianna Shandy

Recent initiatives:

• Leading a team that was awarded a $25,000 Cornerstone: Learning for Living planning grant from the Teagle Foundation. The competitive grant funds are being used for faculty professional development and to revise the college’s first-year general education curriculum.
• Launching the inaugural Center for Engaged Learning, Teaching and Scholarship at Augustana in 2024-2025, in support of faculty and staff excellence as teachers, scholars and mentors.
• Collaborating with the Presidential Center for Faith and Learning, the Department of Business Administration, and CORE to develop the Business Education Steeped in the Liberal Arts (BESLA) program.
• Hiring outstanding tenure track and professional faculty in accounting, biology, business administration, computer science, education, engineering, kinesiology and music. 
• Dr. Dianna Shandy selected as Augustana's next provost
• Augustana officials and students canvas neighborhoods for drinking water pipes survey

More than a leader

An anthropologist by training, her scholarly work and teaching focuses on migration and refugees, gender and work, and African and African diaspora studies. 

Dr. Shandy is the co/author of Nuer-American Passages: Globalizing Sudanese Migration; Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology; Glass Ceilings and 100-Hour Couples: What the Opt-Out Phenomenon Can Teach Us about Work and Family; and The Cultural Experience: Ethnography in a Complex Society, as well as dozens of articles. 

Her interest in financial matters goes beyond pursuing grant funding in support of teaching and learning. Dr. Shandy is on the finance committee for the American Anthropological Association, and confers regularly with Augustana's controller and CFO, which makes for some "lively discussions" and helps her advocate for faculty.

Born and raised on a farm in rural Kansas, she is married to Dr. David Power, a physician at the University of Minnesota. They have two children, Rhetta and Oran.

Specializations: Academic affairs

Isaac Trostle he/him

Assistant Director of Admissions for Operations and CRM Management

• Phone: 309-794-7631
• Email: isaactrostle@augustana.edu
• Office: Seminary Hall 105

Hometown: Lombard, Ill.

Current town: Bettendorf, Iowa

Specializations: Admissions

Michael D. Reisner

Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, Director of the Upper Mississippi Studies Center

• Phone: 309-794-3418
• Email: michaelreisner@augustana.edu
• Office: Hanson 441

Dr. Michael Reisner is the director of the college's Upper Mississippi Studies Center  (UMSC), which will assume a leading role in sustainability science.

Dr. Reisner earned his Ph.D. in ecosystem and restoration ecology from Oregon State University and J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law.

In Montana, he helped to negotiate an agreement between miners and conservation groups that helped to create about 1,000 family-wage jobs in a rural area, without degrading the water or air quality.

At the University of Wisconsin, his work focused on creating more sustainable energy systems for the upper Midwest.

Along the way, he helped to build better relationships between the academic community and the broader community outside—businesses, neighborhoods and conservation groups.

“We have to stop looking for panaceas or silver bullets,” Dr. Reisner said. “Our communities face complex challenges that involve interactions between social, economic, institutional and environmental dimensions. We need to work collaboratively to develop and implement complex solutions.”

A watershed moment for Dr. Reisner came as a boy. He visited Cairo, Ill., and remembers a breathtaking view — the great confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. But his lasting impression was spoiled by pollution, industrial waste and mind-numbing poverty.

“Nearly three decades after I first visited the town as a third-grader, things are the same, at the very least, and arguably have grown worse,” he said.

Dr. Reisner will engage Augustana students in the center’s projects, challenging them to think in new ways that use interdisciplinary approaches, acknowledge competing interests, and find ways to compromise behind a common cause. 

Specializations: Upper Mississippi Center

Michelle Opsahl she/her

Director of Web Content and Design

• Phone: 309-794-7626
• Email: michelleopsahl@augustana.edu
• Office: Bahls CLC 201

Michelle Opsahl '11 was born and raised in Illinois. Originally from the Rockford area, she became a proud Quad Cities resident during her time as an Augustana student.

A lifelong creative writer, she majored in English and was active with SAGA art and literary magazine and WAUG student radio. After graduation, she worked as a communications professional in e-commerce and corporate environments before joining the Augustana staff in 2023.

She's pleased to be back on campus and to give back to the Augustana community that embraced her passions all those years ago.

Aside from writing, Michelle enjoys knitting, playing board games and spending time with her husband and cats.

Specializations: Communication and marketing, Content management, Writing, Copy editing