Ten join Northwestern College faculty

Northwestern College’s new full-time faculty are, front row from left: Dr. Jenny Song, Lori Anderson and Jill Van Otterloo; second row: Sandra Muyskens, Dr. Ginger Gunn, Carrie Thonstad and Mary McCaffrey; and third row: Douglas Anderson, Dr. Doug Maury and Ethan Koerner.

Northwestern College welcomed 10 new full-time faculty members with the start of classes this fall.

Three are joining the business and economics department. Douglas Anderson was hired as a professor of practice with more than two decades of executive experience with nonprofit organizations. Most recently, he was the chief operating officer for the national headquarters of Camp Fire in Kansas City, Missouri, after serving as the executive director of the Teen Challenge Kansas City Girls’ Home. A University of Iowa graduate, he has a master’s degree in Christian ministries from Evangel University and has taught graduate and undergraduate classes in nonprofit management for the University of South Dakota.

Dr. Jiying (Jenny) Song is Northwestern’s new assistant professor of business, hired to teach management and marketing courses. Song has a doctorate in leadership studies from Gonzaga University and comes to NWC from the faculty of George Fox University. Certified in project management, she has extensive industry experience as a senior engineer and operation director in logistics and supply chain management for Dalian Port Logistics Technology Company. She serves as the associate editor for The International Journal of Servant Leadership.

Mary McCaffrey, instructor in accounting, was hired as a one-year replacement for Ray Gibler, who is on sabbatical. She previously was an internal audit/staff accountant with the Renewable Energy Group in Ames, Iowa. A Northwestern College graduate, she also worked as a tax intern for Eide Bailly in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Another Northwestern College graduate, Dr. Ginger Gunn, returns to her alma mater as an assistant professor of psychology. Gunn earned a master’s degree in psychology and doctorate in clinical psychology from Seattle Pacific University. She most recently worked as a staff psychologist at the Harry Truman Veterans Hospital in Sedalia, Missouri. She also has experience as a clinical/administrative supervisor for a corrections center and veterans affairs facility.

Ethan Koerner is filling a one-year position as instructor in theatre. As such, he will teach theatre classes, design sets and serve as the technical director for Northwestern’s 2019–20 theatre season. He is a Dordt University graduate who holds a master’s degree in theatre from Bowling Green State University Most recently, he was a designer and technical director at Tabor College in Kansas.

The other five new faculty are teaching in Northwestern’s graduate programs.

Carrie Thonstad is serving a one-year appointment in the Master of Education in educational administration program, teaching graduate students who wish to earn their principal licensure. She has experience as a teacher, mentor, reading specialist, principal and online education instructor. She has credentials in early childhood education, reading recovery, structured English immersion, curriculum, instruction and educational administration, and is currently working on a doctorate in education organization and leadership from Capella University.

Dr. Douglas Maury joins the kinesiology department as an assistant professor of athletic training and the clinical coordinator for the athletic training program. He comes to Northwestern from Bethel College in Kansas, where he served as the program director of the athletic training program and chair of the health and physical education department. A Bethel graduate, he earned a master’s degree in sports administration from Wichita State University and a doctorate in athletic training from A.T. Still University. Maury will help Northwestern’s athletic training program transition to a master’s degree program in May of 2020.

The remaining three new Northwestern faculty members were also hired for a graduate program that will start classes in May 2020. Lori Anderson, Sandra Muyskens and Jill Van Otterloo, each board certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, join the college as professors of practice for its master’s degree program in physician assistant (PA) studies.

Anderson graduated from the physician assistant studies program at the University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine. Her diverse work history includes experience as a physician assistant, respiratory therapy technician, EMT and health science liaison for a major pharmaceutical company. She was an instrumental part of the team that recruited more than 250 clinical placements required as part of the accreditation process for Northwestern’s PA program.

Muyskens has 25 years of PA experience serving patients in emergency rooms, clinics, nursing homes and jails in urban and rural settings. She was awarded the Wellmark Excellence in Diabetes and HTN Management designation, and she is trained and certified in a variety of medical practices and procedures. Muyskens taught PA students in the clinic setting and served as an adjunct instructor for Western Michigan University and Northwest Iowa Community College. She earned her certificate in physician assistant studies from Western University of Health Sciences.

Van Otterloo is an Iowa State University graduate who earned a master’s degree in physician assistant studies from Des Moines University. She worked as a physician assistant at Mercy Family Clinic in Forest City, Iowa, and earned specializations in disaster life support, cardiac life support and school medication administration. She taught physician assistant and nurse practitioner students in the clinic setting and volunteered as a sideline healthcare provider for Waldorf University football.