Evan Sammons ’20

Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving

• Phone: 309-794-7575
• Email: evansammons@augustana.edu
• Office: Sorensen Hall

Evan Sammons joined the Office of Advancement in 2020, seven months after graduating from Augustana with a bachelor's degree in communication studies and instrumental performance (saxophone). After graduating from Augustana, he worked as a campaign associate at United Way of the Quad Cities, and then in marketing at Central Bank in Geneseo, Ill.

In his current role, he coordinates Friends of Music, a membership-based club created to support Augustana's student-musicians; advises the GOLD Council, a group of graduates of the last decade who work to cultivate relationships with fellow alumni on behalf of the college; and leads the student philanthropy program. 

Specializations: Advancement

Tyler Vens

Associate Director of Financial Aid

• Phone: 309-794-7680
• Email: tylervens@augustana.edu
• Office: Seminary Hall 102A

Schedule a meeting with Tyler

Specializations: Financial aid

Forrest J. Stonedahl

Associate Professor and Co-Chair of Mathematics and Computer Science

• Phone: 309-794-7515
• Email: forreststonedahl@augustana.edu
• Office: Olin Center 217

Dr. Forrest Stonedahl has been fascinated with the extraordinary beauty, creativity, and logic of computer programming since he was 13 years old.  Many years (and a few advanced degrees later), he still enjoys the puzzle solving of coding up a elegant algorithm to solve some tricky problem, and he will happily explain to students why computers are, essentially, the coolest invention ever.

Dr. Stonedahl remains active in research, generally involving computer simulations of complex systems, optimization and data analysis, and artificial intelligence.  (For more information, check out his professional website.)  He also likes to work with undergraduates on research projects related to their own interests.

Specializations: Artificial intelligence, Complex systems, Network science, Evolutionary and genetic algorithms

AKM R. Bashar 

Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science

• Email: akmraquibulbashar@augustana.edu

Dr. AKM R. Bashar is a storyteller with data by training in applied statistics. He teaches interdisciplinary areas of statistics, data science and mathematics. His research interest is focused on formulating statistical and mathematical models of real-life phenomenon.

Mike White

Part-time Assistant Professor, Double Bass

• Email: mikewhite@augustana.edu
• Office: Bergendoff 21

Mike White is an instructor of music at Augustana College, where he teaches double bass studio lessons and string methods. He is currently a doctor of musical arts candidate at the University of Iowa, where he served as the double bass studio teaching assistant.

Mike holds a master of arts degree from the University of Iowa, where he studied with Professor Volkan Orhon, and a bachelor of music degree from Illinois State University,  where he was a student of Dr. William Koehler. While a student at Iowa, Mike performed with the UI Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, UI Opera, and the Center for New Music. Mike has participated in masterclasses from renowned double bassists including Diana Gannett, David Murray, Barry Green, Anthony Stoops, and Paul Sharpe.

In 2013, Mike joined the faculty at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, where he taught double bass studio lessons and assisted with the college’s orchestra and jazz ensemble. He also worked with local middle and high school musicians as a private teacher and clinician. From 2016 to 2019 he was a faculty member at the Upper Midwest String Camp in St. Joseph, Minnesota where he provided masterclasses, technique classes, and chamber music coaching to young string musicians. Mike is currently a teaching artist with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra’s private lesson program.

Mike has been involved in recent chamber music projects including performances of Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet, Erwin Schulhoff’s Concertino for Flute, Viola, and Double Bass, John Adams’ Chamber Symphony, Stravinsky’s L’histoire du Soldat, and all six of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. In 2017, he performed James Stephenson’s “Devil’s Tale” with the Rountree Ensemble, the faculty ensemble of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Mike performed a recital with the University of Iowa Double Bass Ensemble at the 2017 International Society of Bassists Convention in Ithaca, New York. In 2018, he joined the University of Northern Iowa Faculty Septet for a performance of Michael Daugherty’s “Dead Elvis.” 

Mike has been a member of the WCF Symphony since 2011 and also appears regularly as a guest musician with Orchestra Iowa, the Peoria Symphony, Dubuque Symphony, and the Illinois Symphony, among others. In 2016, he performed with the Missouri Symphony during their Hot Summer Nights music festival.

Specializations: Double bass, String methods