NWC announces faculty promotions, tenurings

Several Northwestern College faculty have been awarded tenure and promoted for the 2010–11 school year.

Tenure was awarded to Dean Calsbeek and Piet Koene. Calsbeek was promoted to the rank of associate professor, and five faculty members were promoted to full professor: Thomas Holm, Bob Hubbard, Tim Huffman, Michael Kensak and Vonda Post.

Calsbeek joined Northwestern’s kinesiology department in 2004 after earning a doctorate in physiology and a master’s degree in exercise physiology, both from Colorado State University, and working as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Colorado Health Science Center. The director of the exercise science program, Calsbeek teaches courses in exercise physiology, exercise testing and prescription, and human anatomy and physiology. He also directs exercise science research and internships and serves as the faculty mentor for the Kinesiology Klub. He received a bachelor’s degree in biology-health professions from Northwestern College.

Koene, assistant professor of Spanish, was Iowa’s Professor of the Year for 2004. A member of the faculty since 2000, he received Northwestern’s Teaching Excellence Award in 2003. A state-certified court interpreter, he is the director of the college’s new major in translation and interpretation. He earned a master’s degree in translation and interpretation, as well as professional certifications in both areas, at the Monterey (California) Institute of International Studies. Koene also holds a master’s degree in history with a concentration in Latin American studies from the University of Toronto and a bachelor’s degree from Calvin College.

Holm directs the A cappella Choir and Heritage Singers chamber choir while teaching courses in music history, conducting, exploring music, and vocal diction. A member of the faculty since 2000, he previously taught at The King’s University College and Prairie Bible College in Canada. Holm earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral music from the University of Illinois. He also holds degrees from the University of Alberta, University of Idaho and Big Sky Bible College. An active clinician and adjudicator, Holm conducts the Sioux County Oratorio Chorus.

A member of Northwestern’s theatre faculty since 2002, Hubbard previously taught at Calvin College and worked as a director, actor and playwright/adaptor. Among the shows he’s directed are an award-winning production of The Comedy of Errors and an original stage adaptation of Larry Woiwode’s novel Beyond the Bedroom Wall. Hubbard has performed his original, one-person show, Dancing with Jimmy, in a number of venues. Hubbard earned doctoral and master’s degrees in theatre from Bowling Green State University and a bachelor’s degree in communication arts and English at Minot State University.

Huffman has taught mathematics at Northwestern since 1994. He earned doctoral and master’s degrees in mathematics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as well as a bachelor’s degree at Nebraska’s Concordia University. His research has been published in the International Journal of Mathematics and Mathematics Science, Transactions of the American Mathematical Society, Rocky Mountain Journal of Mathematics, Michigan Mathematics Journal, and Journal of the Korean Mathematical Society. An academic correspondent of the Casualty Actuarial Society, Huffman directs Northwestern’s actuarial science major.

Kensak joined the English faculty in 1999. He teaches medieval and renaissance literature, linguistics and German. He earned doctoral and master’s degrees in English from Vanderbilt University and a bachelor’s degree in German and music from Princeton University. Kensak’s work has been published in journals like The Chaucer Review, Studies in Philology, and Philological Quarterly. He is currently working on a project funded by the Lilly Endowment to produce a multimedia German textbook. 

Post, a licensed CPA, teaches upper-level and introductory accounting classes. A member of the business and economics faculty since 1992, she earned a master’s degree in professional accounting from the University of South Dakota and a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business/economics at Northwestern College. The business department chairperson, Post has experience in both public and private accounting, including serving as Northwestern’s comptroller.