STAFF

Providing top notch service.

Staff

Office of Teaching and Learning staff members work hard to plan and implement a variety of professional development and other teaching and learning related programs and events. Below is a list of staff members, their related roles in the OTL office, and their contact information. Do not hesitate to contact any one of our staff members to assist with your questions.

NOTE: If you need to share personal information with us (ex. student ID, social security number, birthdate, etc.) please send that information using the secure file transfer (SFT) url listed for each staff member. The message section of the secure file transfer system is not secure, only attached documents or files are considered secure.

We encourage you to nominate Office of Teaching and Learning staff members for the variety of NDSU and state employee awards. If you feel you have received top notch service from one of our staff members, nominate them for a

This is one small way to say thank you for their dedicated service to the Office of Teaching and Learning at NDSU. 

 


Dr. Stacy Duffield

Director
Phone: 701-231-7102
Email: Stacy.Duffield@ndsu.edu
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Dr. Stacy Duffield has been with NDSU since 2003. She began in the School of Education as a faculty member in the Teacher Education program, teaching undergraduate and graduate coursework, advising and mentoring students, conducting research, and serving on numerous university and external committees.

Dr. Duffield has a Ph.D. in secondary and higher education and a Master’s degree in reading education with a cognate in educational leadership from the University of North Dakota and a Bachelor of Science degree in English and secondary education from the University of Mary. She began her career as a secondary English language arts and communications teacher.

Dr. Duffield has been part of teams awarded a range of grants including several large initiatives. She has been co-PI on NSF Noyce grants, Bush Foundation cross-institutional grants, and many state and project-focused grants. She currently serves as co-PI for two NSF funded Noyce grants to recruit and support secondary STEM teachers. She is also project manager for the Network for Excellence in Teaching, a cross-institutional collaborative made up of 14 teacher preparation programs in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota and numerous affiliate institutions around the nation.

Dr. Duffield’s professional interests focus on scholarship of teaching and learning with attention on effective teaching. She has collaborated with many colleagues and graduate students on research and practice publications related to improving teaching and learning. Duffield has also published in the area of collaboration and was awarded the prestigious 2018 Edward C. Pomeroy award for outstanding contributions to teacher education from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

View Dr. Duffield’s Curriculum Vita - PDF  |  Audio(MP3)

 

 


 

Janalee Brandt

Assistant Director // Enrollment and Records
Phone: 701-231-7808
Email: Janalee.Brandt@ndsu.edu
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Janalee Brandt has worked at NDSU since 1978. She has worked exclusively in the Distance and Continuing Education program throughout her time at NDSU. In addition to being known as the unofficial office historian, Brandt works closely with K-12 educators and administrators and assists with the registration process for their professional development classes. Throughout the years, Brandt has handled hundreds of thousands of registrations with most of them during the busy summer season. Brandt also manages accounts receivables and statistical reports for the Office of Teaching and Learning and its associated programs. In addition, she is an integral part of the office's records management initiative. 

 

 

 

 

Linda Charlton Gunderson

Technology Coordinator // Group Decision Center
Phone: 701-231-6414
Email: Linda.Charlton@ndsu.edu 
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Linda Charlton Gunderson has worked in the Group Decision Center, a program of the Office of Teaching and Learning, since 2001. As the campus expert in Qualtrics survey software she spends a significant amount of time assisting departments and faculty/student researchers in setting up their surveys and teaching them to use advanced features in Qualtrics. Charlton Gunderson sets up thousands of student course experience surveys (SCES) each semester. She is responsible for collecting course information, setting up each survey, distributing the surveys, and distributing completed survey results to instructors and departments. Charlton Gunderson sets up or assists in setting up more than 1,500 surveys each semester. 

 

 

 

Dr. Sarah Crary

Assistant Director  //  Online Programs Coordinator
Phone: 701-231-5498
Email: Sarah.Crary@ndsu.edu
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Dr. Sarah Crary has been with NDSU since 2018. Dr. Crary began in the School of Education as a faculty member in the Educational and Organizational Leadership program. She primarily worked with current educators wanting to expand their leadership skills and abilities towards becoming a teacher leader or a building-level leader. Her research interests include information literacy, fostering equal access for blended learning, and understanding the experiences of New Americans in small urban settings. She is also the Co-PI for a NSF Research Experience for Teachers grant that works to help teachers develop authentic hands-on lessons related to Civil Engineering.

Dr. Crary has a Ph.D. in K-12 Educational Leadership from the University of North Dakota, Master of Education in K-12 Educational Leadership, and a Bachelor of Science in Social Studies education both from Minnesota State University Moorhead. She spent over a decade in teaching social studies along with AP/dual-credit courses to juniors and seniors in both California and North Dakota. She also worked as a high-school administrator in North Dakota. Dr. Crary’s service at NDSU has largely focused on accreditation, curriculum, and program development.

 

Deb Demers

Registration Coordinator
Phone: 701-231-6495
Email: Deb.DeMers@ndsu.edu
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Deb DeMers has worked for NDSU since 2002. DeMers worked in the Office of Registration and Records before coming to Distance and Continuing Education, now a program of the Office of Teaching and Learning. DeMers' role is to ensure all professional development students in the office's Distance and Continuing Education program are officially registered for their classes. Because professional development students are not required to seek admission, they do not register in the same manner as degree-eligible students. DeMers inputs student registration information into the campus enrollment system. DeMers plays an important role in ensuring that professional development records are maintained according to NDSU's and the North Dakota University System's records management policies.   

 

 


 

Kathy Hoovestol

Office Assistant and Records Coordinator
Phone: 701-231-7539
Email: Kathryn.R.Hoovestol@ndsu.edu
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Kathy Hoovestol began her NDSU career in 2008 with Distance and Continuing Education which eventually became the Office of Teaching and Learning. Hoovestol is the office's receptionist and is most often the first voice you hear when calling the office. Hoovestol serves as the records coordinator, phones coordinator, and Perceptive Content liaison for Office of Teaching and Learning records initiative. She was instrumental in getting the office's paper filing system moved to the new electronic filing system. Hoovestol continues to keep the office's record system in compliance with the NDSU and NDUS records retention policies and trains staff to ensure documents are correctly added to the Perceptive Content software. 

 

 

 

Connie Jadrny

Senior Marketing Coordinator
Phone: 701-231-9738
Email: Connie.Jadrny@ndsu.edu
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Connie Jadrny began her career at NDSU in 2005. Jadrny spends much of her time writing so people will read each page of this website in great depth. Her extensive collection of everyday writing samples includes email content for the Information Link emails, the office's 2016-2021 strategic plan, social media posts that enlighten, an occasional blog post, and your run-of-the-mill email communication. Jadrny contributes to the Office of Teaching and Learning's (OTL) success by regularly promoting its programs and services. She has served as an NDSU Staff Senator on two different occasions and also served on the Environmental Sustainability Committee. 

 

 

 

Sommer Korn

Project Coordinator
Phone: (701) 231-9712
Email: Sommer.Korn@ndsu.edu
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Sommer Korn graduated from NDSU with her Bachelor of Science in English Education in 2017. Before working in the Office of Teaching and Learning, Korn (formerly Forkenbrock) was a high school English teacher in the West Fargo Public School District for 5 years and taught grades 9, 10, and 11. Before becoming an English language arts (ELA) teacher, she worked on campus in the Center for Child Development.

Korn is responsible for the development and coordination of ND Governor's Schools, Avenues of Scientific Discovery, and more. She will work with disciplinary areas and campus facilities to design and implement high-quality, academically-challenging, and positive learning experiences for participants.

 

 


Barb Schumacher

K-12 Professional Development Coordinator
Phone: 701-231-7852
Email: Barbara.Schumacher@ndsu.edu
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Barb Schumacher has worked at NDSU since 1988. She has worked exclusively in the Distance and Continuing Education Professional Development program throughout her time at NDSU. Schumacher works closely with K-12 administrators and other individuals to get their K-12 Professional Development classes approved at NDSU. Throughout the years, Schumacher has prepared thousands of courses for the approval process by collecting syllabi, curriculum vitae, and other supporting documentation. Once the approval information is complete, Schumacher ensures the appropriate NDSU administrators have reviewed each course for quality and content. Upon completion of each course, Schumacher ensures the course evaluation feedback is emailed to the instructors. Schumacher's favorite time of the year is when the office's K-12 Professional Development Catalog has officially been mailed.

 

 


 

Jane VanDerMeer

Payables and Purchasing Coordinator
Phone: 701-231-6438
Email: J.Vandermeer@ndsu.edu
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Jane VanDerMeer has worked at NDSU since 1998. Before working in the Office of Teaching and Learning, she worked in the Veterinary and Microbiology Department and was hired by the Office of Distance and Continuing Education in 2002, now a program of the Office of Teaching and Learning. VanDerMeer is responsible for accounts payables for the Office of Teaching and Learning as well as its associated grant-funded programs. She produces fund balance and expense reports that help the director in making budgetary decisions for the office. In addition, VanDerMeer purchases and tracks delivery of grant-related supplies and equipment. 

  


 

Affiliate Staff

Staff listed in this section are individuals from across the NDSU campus who are able to assist with a variety of instructional needs and questions.

 

Dr. Melissa Vosen Callens

Associate Professor of Practice // Department of Communication
College Teaching Certificate Coordinator
Phone: (701)-231-7815
Email: Melissa.Vosen@ndsu.edu
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Dr. Melissa Vosen Callens received her Ph.D. in rhetoric, writing, and culture in 2010 (comprehensive exams: literacy, collaborative writing, and online education). She completed her M.A. in English (2006) and her B.S. in English education (2003). Because of her background in education, Vosen Callens is involved in many pedagogical initiatives on campus, including Teaching Assistant (TA) Training, the Peer Teaching Partnership Program, and her department and college curriculum committees.

She is currently an associate professor of practice in the Department of Communication where she teaches courses in popular culture, media literacy, public relations writing, and pedagogy. 

Her research interests are twofold. She studies the representation of gender and the representation of Generation X in popular culture; she is also interested in researching and disseminating best practices in the classroom. Her writing can be found in English JournalCommunication TeacherDialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy, and Hollywood Heroines: The Most Influential Women in Film History, among other publications. She is currently writing a book that examines the representation of Generation X, and their widely noted institutional cynicism, in the series Stranger Things

For the Office of Teaching and Learning, Vosen Callens coordinates the college teaching certificate and offers an Online Teaching and Learning Faculty Learning Community. Individuals interested in the program are welcome to contact her directly.

 

 


 

Dr. Jodi Tangen

Associate Professor // Counselor Education
OTL Faculty Fellow
Phone:  (701) 231-7676
Email: Jodi.Tangen@ndsu.edu
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Dr. Jodi L. Tangen, PhD, LPC, NCC, ACS, is an associate professor and program coordinator in the Counselor Education program at North Dakota State University. Her research interests center on counselor education and supervision, creative teaching methods, counseling and spirituality, diversity, and relational depth. She is a proud single mom of two wonderful children.

 

Dr. Ali Amiri

Associate Professor of Practice // Department of Engineering
OTL Faculty Fellow
Phone:  (701) 231-7215
Email: Ali.Amiri@ndsu.edu
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Dr. Ali Amiri is an associate professor of practice in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from NDSU in 2017, and has been teaching classes since Fall 2016. Dr. Amiri teaches a variety of courses, ranging from Engineering Mechanics, Product Design and Development to Fundamentals of Visual Communication for Engineers. He also coordinates the senior design projects (capstone course) for the ME department. In addition, Dr. Amiri advises and mentors undergraduate and graduate students, and mentors senior design projects.

Dr. Amiri is often described as “my favorite instructor” in student evaluations. Known for his passion for his subject and his dedication to students, Dr. Amiri has been nominated and recognized with several awards in recent years; College of Engineering Early Career Excellence in Teaching Award, Odney Excellence in Teaching Award, and Peltier Innovation in Teaching Award to name a few.

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