Employee Directory

Julie Backous

Senior Secretary

Technology Center 358

Ms. Backous graduated from Northern State University with a BS in psychology. In 2013 she joined Northern as senior secretary for the Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and department secretary for History and Social Sciences. Recently, she added the department of English, Communication and Global Languages to her responsibilities. Ms. Backous has more than 20 years of experience as an administrative assistant and 16 years working with children in residential behavioral settings in South Dakota and Colorado. She is delighted to be back at Northern working with students and satisfying her love of Excel spreadsheets.

Kiera Ball

Instructor of English and Reading

Technology Center 265

Kiera Ball is an Instructor of English, having joined Northern’s faculty in 2023. She holds a master’s degree in English literature from the University of South Dakota and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Sioux Falls in English and theology/philosophy.

Her research interests focus on regional literature and gender and theology in 19th- and 20th-century American and British literature.
 

Lysbeth Em Benkert

Department Chair/Professor of English

Technology Center 373

Resume/CV

Dr. Lysbeth Em Benkert arrived at Northern State University in the fall of 1995, one year after receiving her Ph.D from Washington State University. 

Her specializations include rhetorical theory and early modern literature, including Shakespeare. She also teaches creative writing. In addition to her academic scholarship, she has published original poems in a variety of literary magazines and a chapbook titled #girl stuff (Dancing Girl Press, 2018). A second chapbook of poems, Please thank you but why, is forthcoming in February of 2023.

Shelby Boettner

Assistant Professor of Nursing

Technology Center 260

Dr. Shelby Boettner is an Assistant Professor of Nursing at Northern State University. She holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in Leadership from the University of North Dakota, with a project focused on quality improvement in critical care nursing. Dr. Boettner brings extensive experience in nursing education, having previously served as the BSN Program Director at Presentation College and as a Clinical Adjunct at St. Ambrose University. She is deeply committed to innovative teaching, with a strong emphasis on simulation and hands-on learning to foster a solid foundation in nursing education. This dedication is reflected in her Master's project, which focused on integrating gamification and virtual reality into nursing education to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes.

In addition to her academic roles, Dr. Boettner has over 5 years of professional nursing experience in various settings, including the Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department at Avera St. Luke's Hospital, and continues to stay active in clinical practice. She is actively engaged in scholarship, continuously exploring ways to enhance nursing education through evidence-based practices and innovative teaching methods. Dr. Boettner is dedicated to student engagement and success, serving as a faculty advisor for the Student Nurses Association and participating in multiple professional organizations such as the South Dakota Nurses Association and Sigma Theta Tau.

View CV

Kristen Brown

Assistant Professor of English

Technology Center 255

Ph.D. in English and American Literature, University of South Carolina, 2020

M.A. in English, Gannon University, 2009

B.S. in English/Secondary Education Track, Towson University, 2001

CV

After teaching in the eastern and southwestern U.S., Dr. Kristen Brown joined Northern's faculty in 2022. While earning her Ph.D. in English and American Literature at The University of South Carolina, she taught composition, literature, and ethics courses while designing her own minor in indigenous studies with emphasis on the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Her research was funded in part by the national Bilinski Dissertation Fellowship.

Dr. Brown’s teaching and research often focus on indigenous perspectives and environmental themes. In addition to recent scholarship published in Western American Literature and Resonance: The Journal of Sound and Culture, she has a chapter forthcoming in a book titled Race in the Multiethnic Literature Classroom in which she considers how Dakota author-activist Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa) uses storytelling to challenge the logics of settler civilization projects while carving space for common ground.

Kristi Brownfield

Associate Professor of Sociology/Director of Assessment

Technology Center 350

Ph.D., Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

Dr. Brownfield joined the NSU faculty in 2015. Her current research looks at deviance and “bad behavior” in online forums devoted to support networks. She recently has published articles on depictions of prisons in film and rural policing on television.

Research Interests/Areas of Expertise

Popular culture

New media research methods

Online phenomena

Race/class/gender

Social psychology, identity, narrative, and deviance

Rhonda Carda

Academic Advisor - History & Social Sciences/Fine Arts; Academic Advisor & Recruiter - Rising Scholars

Spafford Hall 103A

M.S.Ed.  South Dakota State University

B.S.Ed  Northern State University

Being a Wolf is in my blood.  I’m the fourth generation in my family to attend Northern, with my great-grandmother graduating from Northern Normal and Industrial School in 1915.  I earned my bachelor of science in secondary education from Northern in 1989 and recently completed my master’s degree in curriculum and instruction – adult education from South Dakota State University. I have a variety of work experiences and would love to share them with you. Two of my favorite quotes are “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be” by Douglas Adams, and “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” by Dr. Seuss.

Ric Dias

Professor of History, Faculty Mentoring Program Coordinator

Technology Center 370

Guangwei Ding

Professor of Chemistry

Jewett Science Center 220