ISU Languages and Literatures Faculty and Staff
French Faculty//German Faculty//Spanish Faculty//Japanese Faculty//Chinese Faculty//Russian Faculty// Latin Faculty//Shoshoni Faculty//Office Staff
French Faculty
Pamela Park, Professor
Ph.D. French Literature (CUNY 1979), Licence in French (University of Nancy 1974) B.A. French (Fordham University 1972)
Prof. Park teaches all levels of French language, as well as upper-level courses in French literature and civilization. Her research focuses on France's literary Golden Age with an emphasis on the 17th-century writer and theologian Fénelon. Prof. Park is currently the Executive Director of the national French Honor Society, Pi Delta Phi.
Valia Tatarova, Adjunct Instructor
M.A. French Literature (University of Notre Dame, 2000)
Valia Tatarova teaches beginning and intermediate French including the 300 level Business French. She is the Advisor of the French Club and a member of the National French Honor Society Pi Delta Phi.
German Faculty
Sandra Dillon, Visiting Instructor
A.B.D. German (University of Oregon 2007), M.A. German (University of Colorado, Boulder 2002), B.A. Spanish and German (Idaho State University 2000).
Sandra Dillon was born in Berlin Germany. Because of her father’s occupation she lived for six years in Venezuela and for nine years in Mexico. Sandra grew up in a bilingual environment and, when she came to Pocatello in 1994, she pursued her interest in languages, literatures and cultures at Idaho State University. She graduated with a B.A. in German and Spanish from ISU. She received her M.A. from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she united her interest in German and Spanish literature in her Masters thesis titled The Voice of the Voiceless in Gertrud Kolmar and Carmen Conde. Sandra is currently working on her dissertation dealing with the representation of women terrorists in German film and literature, which she presented on at the 2007 M.L.A. conference in Chicago. She teaches all levels of German. Her research interests are terrorism in literature, Holocaust literature, social problems as they are represented in literature, and women’s literature.
Craig Nickisch, Professor Emeritus
Ph.D. University of Nebraska. Personal Webpage.
Spanish Faculty
James Fogelquist, Professor and Department Chair
Ph.D Romance Languages (Yale University 1977), B.A Spanish (U.C.L.A. 1972)
Dr. Fogelquist teaches all levels of Spanish, as well as courses in Hispanic literature and civilization. His research deals with the interplay of history and fiction in late medieval and early modern Spanish literature. He is currently working on a book on the theme of history in Don Quixote. He has published a book entitled El Amadís y el género de la historia fingida (1982), a two volume critical edition of La crónica del Rey don Rodrigo (2001), and a monograph entitled The Reconfiguration of La Cava in the ‘Crónica del Rey don Rodrigo’ (2007). He has a life-long passion for Mexican folkloric music.
Sharon Sieber, Professor
Ph.D. Comparative Literature (Indiana University 1992), M.A. Spanish (Indiana University 1982), B.A. English and Journalism (Indiana University 1977)
Professor Sieber first came to ISU in 1993 and teaches all levels of Spanish and Latin American Literature as well as 20th Century Spanish literature. Her research interests include postmodernism, neo-baroque, feminist theory, magical realism and the study of time. She has published articles in a wide variety of journals on such authors as Jorge Luis Borges, Rosario Castellanos, Carlos Fuentes, Elena Garro, Julio Cortázar, Juan Rulfo, Miguel Angel Asturias, José Lezama Lima, Rigoberta Menchú, Octavio Paz and Kurt Vonnegut. She has also published an article on feature films Jacob’s Ladder and Siesta. She has presented papers at over 30 national and international conferences on Daína Chaviano, Carmen Martín-Gaite, Rosa Montero, Juan Goytisolo, Ursula LeGuin, Yoss and many others. She is completing work on a Spanish composition textbook, a book on time and simultaneity in Latin American literature, and a comparison of the concept of time in the indigenous literatures of North and South America. Professor Sieber has published papers with students and has co-presented or assisted students with presenting papers at international conferences. She was twice selected as “Most Influential Professor” by students receiving the Outstanding Student Award in the Humanities. She was a Fulbright Scholar in 1999 (combined research and lecturing award), a National Endowment for the Humanities participant in two Summer Institutes in Mexico City, Oaxaca and the Southwestern U.S, and she was an NEH panelist in 2002. She is currently editor of Rendezvous, ISU’s Journal of Arts and Letters and she is the Campus Fulbright Program Adviser.
Daniel Hunt, Associate Professor
D.A. English (Idaho State University 1990), M.A. English (Idaho State University 1987), B.A. Spanish and Anthropology (Idaho State University 1980)
Dr. Hunt teaches all levels of Spanish language, as well as courses in Spanish American Literature, Business Spanish, Literature in Translation, and Honors Humanities. Recent research includes humor, politics, and history in the novela negra and in the Spanish American chronicle, and teaching the poetry of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Founder and director of the weekly Tertulia.
H. Cathleen Tarp, Associate Professor
Ph.D Romance Languages (University of New Mexico 1999); M.A. Hispanic Literature, (University of New Mexico 1996); B.A. English Literature (University of Idaho 1992)
Dr. Tarp’s areas of specialization are the Spanish Middle Ages and Baroque. Current research interests include the grotesque, the Spanish prose romance, and narratology in the context of the development of prose fiction. Dr.Tarp is a certified medical interpreter and a qualified legal interpreter. She is also faculty advisor for Sigma Delta Pi, the National Spanish Honor Society, and the ISU student organization, Entrepeneurs of America.
Amando Álvarez , Assistant Lecturer
MA Spanish (University of Colorado), MS Library Science (Emporia State University), BA History (Idaho State University)
Mr. Álvarez was raised in Idaho and his childhood experiences are reflected in his book Rising River: The Blackfoot Chronicles. He has written for Latino magazines and newspapers, such as Latino, Visiones, and Idaho Unido. Besides receiving extensive training in electronics in the U.S. Navy, he has been a court interpreter in Idaho Falls, Rigby, and Blackfoot, and also has extensive translating experience. Mr. Álvarez taught Spanish at the University of Colorado, in libraries, and at the public schools through Idaho State University. He has conducted Latino workshops and seminars at Idaho State University, the University of Idaho, and libraries across the country. He is a member of the Bingham County Historical Society, the VFW, the American Legion, and the Cervantes Society of America. His interests are reading, writing, and furthering his knowledge of Latino culture, focusing on the Chicano/Mexicano experience.
Amando's Page / La página de Amando
David Heath, Senior Lecturer
David Heath, Senior Lecturer MA Latin American Studies (University of Kansas), BA Spanish (Idaho State University)
Mr. Heath teaches first and second year Spanish, and has taught Spanish for Health Care. He is also an Early College Program liaison for several area high schools and is the coordinator for Spanish 101-102. Mr. Heath lived in Puerto Rico for two years and has an interest in the Spanish-speaking cultures of the Carribean.
Derek James Kotter, Visiting Assistant Lecturer
B.A. Spanish (University of Wyoming 2005); MA Spanish (University of Wyoming 2007)
Derek has always had a fondness for the Spanish language and that affinity was made even stronger when he spent two years in Córdoba, Argentina as a missionary. Upon completion of his Master’s Degree in Laramie, Wyoming, Derek moved his family to Pocatello. He began teaching at ISU in January of 2008.
Sarah McCurry, Assistant Lecturer and Language Lab Supervisor
Sarah did her undergraduate work at University of Massachusetts at Boston and her graduate work at University of California at Los Angeles. She studied in Mexico and lived in Santiago, Chile for six and a half months.
Marta Izquierdo Robredo, Assistant Lecturer
M.A. Spanish Literature (Washington State University 2003), B.A. Philosophy and Education, major in Psychology (University of Oviedo, Spain, 1994), First Certificate in English (University of Cambridge, England 1992)
Mrs. Izquierdo Robredo is originally from Oviedo, Spain and has been living in the United States of America for ten years. While obtaining her M.A. in Spanish Literature, she was a Spanish instructor at Washington State University. She has been a lecturer in Spanish at Idaho State University since the fall of 2004.
Linda Stewart, Senior Lecturer
M.S. in Spanish and French (1980 Indiana State University), B.A. in French and Spanish with teaching endorsement (1971 Indiana State University)
Ms. Stewart holds teaching certificates in Indiana, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Idaho and has taught French and Spanish to students at the sixth grade, junior high, high school and college levels. She joined the faculty at Idaho State University in August 1987 where she now teaches beginning levels of Spanish.
Jonathan Yonk, Assistant Lecturer
MA Spanish (Middlebury College 2005); BA Spanish (Pacific Lutheran University 2000); BA Global Studies (Pacific Lutheran University 2000)
Jonathan Yonk teaches 100 and 200 level Spanish courses. He is also the faculty advisor for the Idaho Falls based A.L.M.A.S. Club.
Japanese Faculty
Sachiko Fukuoka, Assistant Lecturer
M.Ed. Instructional Technology (Idaho State University 2003), B.A. American Studies (Idaho State University 1999)
Ms. Fukuoka received her MA in Education in 2003, began teaching Japanese in 2004. Programs she has created provide students various opportunities to go to Japan every year including as participants in a yearly study tour, study abroad programs, JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching Program), and service projects in Japan. She is also working with a local Board of Education in Japan to reform English education. Her interests are Educational leadership in Doctor of Education degree program, international exchange program, and practical and stress-free Japanese language teaching and learning methods. She teaches all levels of Japanese. Ms. Fukuoka is a faculty advisor of ISU Japanese Club and directs Sakura Daiko, a Japanese drum group.
Sanae Johnsen, Adjunct Instructor
M. Ed. in Education (Idaho State University 1999). B.S. in Business Administration and Accounting (California State University, Chico 1990)
Ms. Johnsen developed and implemented a Japanese program in the fall of 1996 at ISU. In the fall of 2004, she established a minor program in Japanese. A native of Japan, Ms. Johnsen teaches all levels of Japanese and has been an active participant in Japanese activities at ISU and in the surrounding community.
Tsutomu Nagata, Adjunct Instructor
M.A. English (Kent State University 2001), M.A English (University of Tokyo 1995)
Mr. Nagata teaches Japanese literature and language while working on his DA thesis in English. His research interest includes both mainstream and pop culture in modern Japan. He recently published his first book, Water & Mountain: Two Tales by Koda Rohan (1867-1947), and plans to translate other works by Koda and other less-known Japanese writers such as Izumi Kyoka, Ishikawa Jun and Shinoda Setsuko. He also volunteers as a translator and cultural advisor for such groups such as the Pocatello's Arts Council and Sister City Council. His hobbies include animal photography, creative writing and building personal computers.
Chinese Faculty
Mel Ballard, Assistant Lecturer
M.A. East Asian Studies (University of Arizona 1996), B.A. Chinese Language Studies (Monterey Institute of International Studies, 1992).
Research interests include history, belief systems & liturgical traditions of Daoism, popular religious beliefs, Chinese Buddhism, and interactions between the traditions throughout the Wei, Jin, Northern & Southern dynasties period. Dissertation research focuses on exorcistic ritual practice exhibited in early medieval Daoist texts in relation to popular religious beliefs condemned by Daoists. Two minor fields of study include East Asian archaeology and Japanese religions
Russian Faculty
Neli H. Zaltzman, Adjunct Instructor
M.D. (Byelorussian Medical University 1965)
Dr. Zaltzman studied medicine at the Medical University of Minsk, USSR, where she earned her M.D. in 1965. She practiced medicine in Minsk at Regional Medical Center #5 (1965-1968) and at Regional Medical Center #1 (1968-1973). After emigrating to Israel, Dr. Zaltzman practiced medicine at the ‘Donolo’ Medical Center in Tel-Aviv from 1974-1976 and at the ‘Kupat Holim’ Family Medical Center in Bat-Yam from 1976-1988. She has taught courses in Russian at Idaho State University since 1989, where she has sustained the Russian minor for nearly twenty years. She teaches courses in elementary and intermediate Russian, Russian conversation and composition, and readings in Russian. Dr. Zaltzman is the advisor to the Russian Club and is active in the community through her participation in the Zonta International Women’s Club and as a member of Friends of the Symphony.
Latin Faculty
Arthur Dolsen, Professor
Ph.D. Classics (Trinity College, Dublin 1978), B.A. (University of British Columbia 1968)
Dr. Dolsen teaches all levels of Latin offered by the university. He has also taught French and Russian extensively. His research interests include questions of ancient Greek history and rhetoric, in particular in the works of Thucydides.
Shoshoni Faculty
Druscilla Gould, Adjunct Instructor
Office Staff
Donna B. Gilbert, Administrative Assistant
