DSU Welcomes New Professors

Bryan Muller

It is the start of a new year here at DSU, and students are looking forward to their classes and meeting professors this year.  Dakota State is proud to welcome five new professors to the faculty this year, professors who are teaching a wide variety of subjects and grade levels.  Of these five new professors, three are new to campus, and two are former adjunct professors that have been made full time professors.  These professors are: Drs. Yen-Ling Chang, Carmela Lanza, Naveen Nawaar, as well as Kyle Cronin and Carla Miller.

Dr. Carmela Lanza is a professor in the English as well as the education department on campus.  Although she received her undergraduate degree at Emmanuel College in Boston, Dr. Lanza has spent the majority of her educational career in New Mexico.  While in New Mexico, she spent eleven years teaching drama and English at the high school level while earning her Masters degree in writing and her Ph.D. in Literature at the University of New Mexico.  During her time teaching high school, she also became an adjunct professor at that university.  This year, she is teaching upper level English Education classes such as Methods of teaching English and Reading and Content Literacy as well as Composition I.

The business department welcomes Dr. Yen-Ling Chang, who will be teaching business and finance classes this semester.  Dr. Chang received her Masters degree in economics from Iowa State and then received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Arlington.  Before working at DSU, Professor Chang worked at Pacific Lutheran University teaching finance.  This semester, she is teaching several finance classes on campus, including: Business Finance, Financial Institutions, and Investment Real Estate.

The Kennedy Center welcomes Carla Miller as an Instructor of Special education.  Professor Miller received her undergraduate degree, a BA in Eled/Sped from Northern State University in Aberdeen, and received her master’s degree in SPED/Early Childhood Education from the University of South Dakota, and is currently working on her Ph.D.  While working on her master’s, she worked with the Center for Developmental Disabilities University Affiliated Programs at USD.  This semester, she is teaching classes across the SPED Coursework spectrum, including: Classroom Management, Intro to Assessment of Special Education Needs, Survey of Special Education Needs, and Behavior Management.

Kyle Cronin is a computer science professor who has been at Dakota State University for several years, as both a student and an instructor.  Mr. Cronin received both his undergraduate and his master’s degree from DSU, and was an adjunct professor last year.  He is currently working on earning his Ph.D. from Capitol College in Laurel, Maryland.  Mr. Cronin is currently teaching Intro to Computers as well as, Computer Science 1 & 2.

Last, but certainly not least, the Dakota State University is now pleased to have Dr. Naveen Nawaar join the faculty as a full time professor.  Dr. Nawaar has been an adjunct professor for several years at DSU, and now she is a full time instructor.  Dr. Nawaar received her master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt.  This year, Dr. Nawaar is teaching Biology 101 online and Biology 103 on campus.

Those are the new professors on our campus, we look forward to learning from them and their new perspectives on their various subjects.

Information comes from interviews I had with these professors and: “Dakota State University News.” Dakota State University, Madison, SD. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. <http://www.dsu.edu/news/2011/new-faculty-08-23.aspx>.