Northwestern College announces faculty promotions and tenurings

Five members of Northwestern College’s faculty have been awarded tenure or promoted for the 2016–17 school year.

Dr. Julie Dragstra, Dr. John Hubers and Dr. Sandie Kinsinger were awarded tenure, and Dr. Dean Calsbeek and Dr. Michelle Van Wyhe were promoted to the rank of full professor and associate professor, respectively.

Dragstra joined Northwestern’s nursing department in 2008. With experience in orthopedics, public health, home health and hospice settings, she teaches courses in end-of-life nursing and cross-cultural issues in health. After graduating with an R.N. from St. Joseph Mercy School of Nursing, she earned a B.S.N. from Briar Cliff University, a master’s degree from Augustana College, and a Doctor of Education degree from the University of South Dakota.

Hubers, a member of the college’s religion faculty since 2010, has 13 years of experience living in the Middle East, teaching English and serving as a pastor. He has also served as the supervisor of mission programs in the Middle East and South Asia for the Reformed Church in America. A Northwestern graduate, Hubers earned a Master of Divinity degree from New Brunswick Theological Seminary, as well as a Master of Theology degree and a doctorate from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

Kinsinger, a member of Northwestern’s psychology faculty since 2003, has worked in schools with students at risk of dropping out and as a school/home liaison, with an adolescent pregnancy prevention program, as an art therapy consultant and psychiatric art therapist, and as a substance abuse counselor and prevention specialist. A graduate of Wheaton College, she earned a master’s degree in art therapy from the University of Illinois and a doctorate in human development and educational psychology from the University of South Dakota.

Calsbeek joined Northwestern’s kinesiology faculty in 2004. He serves as the director of the college’s Human Performance Lab and the program coordinator for the exercise science major and career concentrations in fitness management and strength/conditioning. He also directs exercise science research and internships. A graduate of Northwestern College, Calsbeek earned a master’s degree in exercise physiology and a doctorate in physiology from Colorado State University.

Van Wyhe, a member of Northwestern’s nursing faculty since 2007, is also a nurse practitioner for the college’s Wellness Center. A board-certified advanced registered nurse practitioner, she received previous nursing experience at Orange City Area Health System, St. Luke’s Hospital in Sioux City and Mid-Sioux Opportunity in Remsen, Iowa. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Augustana College, she earned a master’s degree in nursing, with a family nurse practitioner emphasis, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from South Dakota State University.