Leaders

Abel Knochel joined the department in the fall of 2014.  Abel earned hir PhD in Social Work at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and hir MSW at Spalding University with a focus on gerontology.  Ze worked as a community organizer and educator for more than a dozen years prior to becoming a social work educator.  Abel currently teaches Community and Organizational Practice, Social Welfare Policy, and Field.  Hir research interests include transgender aging, LGBQ aging, community-based participatory research, and anti-oppressive social work practice.

Dr. Amy B. Hietapelto currently serves, since 2021, as the interim Executive Vice Chancellor of the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). Previously, she served at the Dean of the Labovitz School of Business and Economics at UMD (2013-2021). She earned a Ph.D. in Business Administration (Organization Studies) from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She has a Master’s in Business Administration (Marketing) and a Bachelor’s of Science (Psychology), both from Michigan State University.

Professional Title: Assistant Professor

I’m originally from Effie, MN, a tiny town even further north than Duluth. In addition to my studies, I’ve worked as a home mortgage consultant, a Spanish medical interpreter, and, mostly, as an educator, in this country and abroad. Since 2018, I’ve had the privilege to teach a variety of writing courses at UMD, from first-year writing to literature courses. When I’m not on campus, I’m probably tending my garden, going for a run in Chester Bowl, reading to my toddler, or starting another house project.  

Professional Title: Associate Professor

Research Interests: Uranium-series isotope and trace element geochemistry, geochronology, paleoclimatology, paleoceanography, tectonics.

Personal information and webpage:  http://www.d.umn.edu/~cgallup/

David teaches first year writing, writing for engineers, writing for scientists, writing for business, grant writing & project management, the languages of advertising, and writing for social change.  A founding member of the Professional Wrestling Studies Association and a Fellow with the Institute on the Environment, Beard's research traces the power of language to construct communities, to construct identities, and to construct better futures.

Professional Title: Assistant Professor

• Ph.D. in Cultural Studies International Education and Multicultural Education -University of Nevada Las Vegas
• M.Ed. Special Education - University of Nevada Las Vegas 
• M.S. Community Counseling - University of Toledo
• MBA - Wright State University

Professional Title: Associate Professor

http://www.d.umn.edu/~honchen/homepage.htm 

PhD in English received in 1999 from the University of California, Irvine.

Research interests in 20th/21st-century American Literature, World Literature, Regionalism, and Science Fiction.

Professional Title: Associate Professor of Health Care Management and Director of Health Care Management

Office Hours Video

Education

• Ph.D. -University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health

Research Interests

• Evaluation of community and workplace wellness programs
• Health care access and the impact of health care policy
• Social capital, social determinants of health

This faculty member is interested in working with students on research.

Professional Title: Professor; Faculty of Human Resource Management

Education

• Ph.D. in Industrial Relations and Human Resources from the University of Toronto

Research Interests

• Strategic HRM
• Diversity Issues in the Workplace and Employment Relations
• Compensation
• Negotiation

This faculty member is interested in working with students on research.

Professional Title: Associate Professor, Dance & Musical Theatre

Rebecca Katz Harwood's eclectic career includes work as a performer, choreographer, teacher, researcher, and arts administrator. She received her undergraduate degree in Religious Studies and Anthropology from Macalester College, and her MFA in Dance from New York University's Tisch School of Arts.