Ms. Tessa Anderson

Associate Lecturer, Department of Psychology

Tessa Anderson is a native of the Pocatello/Chubbuck area and earned both her B.A. and M.S. in Psychology from Idaho State University. Tessa began teaching at ISU as an adjunct professor in 2008 and then started transitioning to the lecturer role in 2015.  She now serves as an Associate Lecturer for the Psychology Department. 

Tessa has taught a variety of courses in the Psychology Department including introducing students to the field of psychology in large sections of Psyc 1101, helping students understand the science of psychology with the Basic Statistics and Research Methods courses, and helping students see the variety of topics covered in psychology with upper division courses such as Social Psychology, History of Psychology, and Human Factors Psychology. 

One of Tessa’s goals in teaching is to not only inform students but to engage them with the material.  Whether the topic is managing stress, how to better use your memory, being aware of the limits of your attention, or the impact of the social environment on behavior, Tessa feels there is something in psychology that is applicable to every student, regardless of their major or future plans. 

Dr. Derek Eckman

Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics & Statistics

Dr. Derek Eckman is an assistant professor of mathematics education at Idaho State University. He has co-led the implementation of standards-based grading in the coordinated precalculus course, including supervising the reassessment scheduling form and testing room. He has also piloted or supported instructors implementing standards-based grading in trigonometry and calculus, and is collecting data to report on and refine its implementation at ISU. In his teaching, Derek frequently employs group work, real-time formative assessments, Desmos animations, and a strong focus on developing verbal and symbolic communication skills about mathematical ideas. Derek is also a member of Idaho State University’s NOYCE scholarship team, which aims to increase the number of K-12 STEM educators in Idaho by providing funded opportunities for students to engage in a range of teacher-preparation activities.

Derek completed his Ph.D. in mathematics education at Arizona State University, during which time he taught using the research-based Pathways Precalculus and DIRACC Calculus curricula. Prior to this, Derek taught mathematics for five years at Holbrook High School in Holbrook, Arizona, where the student population was primarily Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe members. Outside of school, Derek enjoys performing and creating music on the piano, organ, trumpet, and vocally. He also reads in a book club with his wife, cycles with his kids, and tries to cook meals that elicit as few groans as possible from picky eaters.

Dr. Marin Laufenberg

Teaching Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology & Languages

Dr. Marin Laufenberg is a Teaching Assistant Professor of Spanish and the Director of the Spanish MA Program at ISU. She received her PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2017. She has taught classes on language and culture including Spanish language, composition and conversation, Hispanic literature, theatre, performance, and Spanish for the health and social services. She believes that by learning a language, you acquire a new window to understanding cultures and people. In her teaching, she likes using theatrical techniques, like role playing and dialogue creation. Laufenberg relishes the opportunity to work with students in small groups or one on one, and in doing so she has helped students develop Independent Study projects, guided them to publish their original work, and has collaborated to create the first ever Spanish graduate student conference at ISU, called Arconexiones. This conference is about to celebrate its third annual event. Dr. Laufenberg studies contemporary Latin American literature with a focus on Southern Cone performance and theatre. Her research investigates the role of humor and laughter in dealing with trauma and violence in Argentinean and Chilean theatre. She has published articles on plays by Griselda Gambaro, Eduardo Rovner, Lola Arias, and La Troppa in peer-reviewed journals in addition to a book chapter dedicated to the practice of teaching theatre in the virtual format. Beyond researching theatre, she also has extensive experience in the praxis of theatre as a member and co-founder of the UW-Madison Spanish language theatre group Teatro Décimo Piso. She has lived and studied abroad in Spain, Panama, and Argentina.

Dr. Kendra Murray

Associate Professor, Department of Geosciences

Dr. Kendra Murray is a geologist who uses geochemistry, along with fieldwork and computer modeling, to study the history of mountain ranges, volcanoes, and landscapes. As an Associate Professor in the Department of Geosciences, Dr. Murray teaches students to use observations of the textures, mineralogy, and geochemistry of Earth materials—from atomic to planetary scales—to understand the processes that form and transform rocks. Outside the classroom, Dr. Murray routinely weaves teaching into many aspects of her work as an ISU faculty member, such as: instructing short courses at national and international geoscience conferences; co-teaching the Department of Geosciences’ nationally recognized capstone course in Field Geology each summer; and mentoring ISU graduate students as they evolve from students to scientists. 

Dr. Murray received a B.A. magna cum laude in Geology with a Concentration in Environment and Technology Studies from Carleton College (Northfield, MN) and M.S. and Ph.D. in Geosciences from the University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ). Prior to joining the faculty at ISU, she was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Hamilton College (Clinton, NY) and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor. Dr. Murray’s research has taken her to Nova Scotia, Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica, the Andes of Chile and Argentina, and across the western United States. Much of her active research is focused on the geologic history of the Northwestern US and Rocky Mountains.

Dr. Jessica Winston

Professor, Department of English & Philosophy

Jessica Winston is Professor of English, with a specialization in Renaissance literature and Shakespeare. She teaches a wide range of courses, including Writing and Rhetoric, Introduction to Literary Analysis, British Literature Survey, Survey of Drama, and Shakespeare.

While she has a passion for teaching all of these subjects, Winston has a special interest in teaching Shakespeare with performance approaches, such as up-on-your-feet activities in class. One of her favorite classes is “Shakespeare in Performance,” where students study several Shakespeare plays and then take four-day trip to the Utah Shakespeare Festival to explore the plays on stage.

Winston’s work in that class has led to pedagogical publications. In one article, Winston explores the common, but untheorized teaching convention of requiring students to see stage production of a play. Students sometimes assume that a performance is a visual paraphrase, to be evaluated in terms of its fidelity to the text. Winston argues that students gain more from the experience when they are taught to analyze a performance as a complex event in its own right, one that brings together the text with other factors, such as traditions of interpretation, the insights of the actors, and contemporary societal concerns. 

Winston has a bachelor’s degree in English from Wellesley College, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from University of California, Santa Barbara. As a postdoctoral fellow, she also taught courses in Renaissance literature at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland). She was named an ISU Master Teacher in 2007 and 2010.

Mr. Jonathan Armstrong

Professor, Department of Music

Jonathan Armstrong is a saxophonist, composer, and educator who serves as the Director of Jazz and Commercial Music at Idaho State University. He moved to Pocatello in 2015 after working as a professional musician in Los Angeles for nine years. Jonathan has a creative and dynamic career as a bandleader, performer, composer, and educator. He is also an endorsed artist for Antigua Winds, and plays Antigua Winds Pro One Saxophones.

As a composer, Jonathan has written for various jazz ensembles and chamber groups, choir, and orchestra. His 2025 concerto for saxophone and orchestra, “Voluntary Breath” was performed by two different orchestras, with two future scheduled performances coming. He is also passionate about collaborating with artists from other disciplines. In addition to writing for theater, dance, and film, he composes both instrumental and vocal music based on poetry.

Jonathan has designed and built a recording studio for ISU students, and co-created the Commercial Music degree. Incorporating the studio, the degree program, and his ensembles, Jonathan is developing an educational experience that prepares each student for a dynamic and successful career as a contemporary musician. He has won numerous arts grants and invites world-class musicians to perform and record alongside ISU music students. He adores his wife Erin and their children Nora and Breen, and the astonishing beauty of the landscape and humans of Idaho.

Dr. Donna Delparte

Professor, Department of Geosciences

Dr. Donna M. Delparte is a Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Idaho State University whose research integrates remote sensing, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and machine learning to support real-world decision making in conservation and environmental planning, precision agriculture, resource management, and natural hazard analysis. Dr. Delparte is a certified FAA remote pilot and has over 14 years of experience flying fixed wing and multicopter UAS. Her work integrates drone-based photogrammetry, LiDAR, hyperspectral, and thermal imagery with spatial analytics to examine complex environments at fine scales. Her recent research focus is using UAS imagery for detecting thermal heat stress in plants and river systems, advanced AI learning such as YOLO for object detection in UAS imagery, spectral analysis for crop threats, and modeling of complex landscape processes.

Mentorship and collaboration are foundational to Dr. Delparte's approach. She works closely with graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and interdisciplinary partners, prioritizing hands-on training and applied problem-solving. As Chair of the AmericaView Board of Directors—a national earth observation consortium representing 44 states—she advances spatial literacy, workforce development, and the thoughtful application of geospatial technologies to address challenges at local, regional, and national levels.

Dr. Delparte teaches in ISU’s Geospatial Science Programs, including the Masters of Geographic Information Sciences program - her courses include graduate and undergraduate courses in remote sensing, GIS, and UAS for conservation and resource management applications.

Dr. Mostafa Fouda

Associate Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Mostafa Fouda is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Idaho State University (ISU). His research advances artificial intelligence-enabled communication networks, cybersecurity, smart grids, Internet of Things (IoT), and cyber-physical systems, with a focus on designing secure, resilient, and sustainable networked infrastructures. His work addresses foundational and applied challenges in next-generation wireless systems (5G/6G), privacy-preserving and federated learning, AI-driven energy and healthcare systems, and resilient critical infrastructure.

Dr. Fouda’s scholarship has achieved broad international impact, with over 9,600 citations and an h-index of 50, and he has authored more than 370 peer-reviewed publications, including 180 journal and magazine papers in leading venues. He serves in prominent editorial roles, including Editor positions for IEEE Network, IEEE Internet of Things Journal, and IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, and Associate Editor for IEEE Access.

Since joining ISU in 2020, Dr. Fouda has built an externally funded research program supported by sponsors such as the National Science Foundation, Idaho EPSCoR, and Idaho National Laboratory, where he also holds a joint appointment. He is committed to impactful research, strong mentorship, and expanding ISU’s national and international research visibility.

Dr. Ali Habashi

Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical & Pharmaceutical Sciences

Dr. Habashi is a pharmaceutical scientist, educator, and Director of the ISU Pharmaceutics Translation Core Facility at the College of Pharmacy. His research program centers on understanding drug-disease interactions, particularly through pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics analysis, identifying disease biomarkers, developing novel nano-formulations, and delivering small-molecule and peptide drugs. His laboratory focuses on the effects of inflammation on critical pathways, including the Arachidonic Acid Pathway and Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS). These systems are involved in the pathology of various inflammatory diseases, including cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, hepatic, gastrointestinal, endocrine, musculoskeletal, autoimmune, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and neuroinflammatory diseases, as well as cancer. Targeting the RAS reflects Dr. Habahsi’s commitment to tackling complex biological challenges and provides trainees with hands-on experience in targeted drug-delivery systems using nanotechnology. Through innovative drug delivery systems, he enhanced the efficacy and safety of small molecules and peptides by targeting specific organs, extending their biological half-life, and amplifying their pharmacological impact. His research team applied these approaches to different inflammatory diseases in animal models and identified disease-relevant biomarkers in human subjects. He recently received an INBRE-5 Developmental Research Project award to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis by targeting the Gut RAS, and a SuRE-First (R16) grant to modulate breast cancer metastasis using bone-targeted delivery of a small anti-cancer peptide.

He earned a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacokinetics) from the University of Alberta; a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Bioanalysis) from Tehran University of Medical Sciences; and a Pharm.D. from Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

Dr. Courtney (Cori) Jenkins

Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry

Dr. Jenkins is a polymer chemist. Her research program is focused on developing functional polymers from elemental sulfur, a petroleum waste product. She uses green chemistry principles in her polymer design, including substituting elemental sulfur for garlic oil, to create sulfur-based polymers from fully renewable components. Much of her efforts have centered around converting sulfur, which much like oil, does not interact with water, into water-soluble polymers and hydrogels that absorb water. These materials have been used for selectively extracting gold from complex solutions, adsorbing toxic metals for water purification, and as sustainable adhesives. Simple, rapid synthesis and inexpensive reagents make these materials practical and cost-effective for large scale applications. By collaborating with other faculty, Dr. Jenkins is able to study the interactions between microbes and sulfur-based polymers and study polymer deconstruction by gamma irradiation. Her research team is composed primarily of undergraduates. She has mentored 40 students during her time as a faculty.

Dr. Jenkins obtained her BS in Biochemistry from Saint Louis University, her PhD in Chemistry at Purdue University and completed her postdoctoral studies at California Institute of Technology in Chemical Biology. Dr. Jenkins was an Assistant Professor at Ball State University before joining the ISU faculty in 2019.

Dr. Deanna Dye

Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy

Deanna Dye graduated with her physical therapist degree in 1990, her PhD in Education in 2007 and completed the fellowship in higher education leadership (ELI) in 2018. She has clinical experience primarily in adult and vestibular rehabilitation and wound care. She has worked as a faculty member for 20+ years, including serving as the clinical coordinator, program director, and department chair. She is currently an Associate Professor at Idaho State University teaching in the areas of therapeutic exercise, geriatrics, and cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation. Her current research focuses on the effect of curricular and instructional design on critical reflection, critical thinking, and clinical reasoning.

She initiated and established the Balance and Dizziness Clinic at ISU and the ISU DPT students’ involvement with the Fit and Fall Proof classes offered by the Public Health District (both still running). She volunteered with the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy and has served the Idaho State Licensing Board of Physical Therapy from 2020 – present, serving as the chair in 2024. She served on the Education Committee for the FSBPT assisting in the running of the annual conference and was invited to moderate one of the sessions at the 2024 meeting. In 2012, she was honored with the PT of the Year award and then in 2020 with J Perry Silver Award for lifetime service to the APTA Idaho Chapter.

Ms. Amy Hardy

Clinical Professor, Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders

Amy Hardy, M.S. CCC-SLP is a Professor of Speech-Language Pathology at Idaho State University with more than 24 years of clinical, teaching, and supervisory experience. Her work emphasizes community-engaged clinical service, with specialized expertise in pediatric feeding disorders and comprehensive speech and language services for both children and adults. In recent years, she has expanded services to include dyslexia assessment and evidence-based intervention, further strengthening access to care for underserved populations. Professor Hardy is deeply committed to clinical education and has provided extensive clinical supervision to graduate students, supporting the preparation of skilled, ethical, and compassionate speech-language pathologists while meeting critical community needs.

Dr. Omotayo O. Omotowa

Assistant Professor, School of Nursing

Dr. Omotayo Omotowa is, currently, an Assistant Professor at Idaho State University (ISU) School of Nursing (SON) and currently teaches in graduate programs. Dr. Omotowa was a Clinical Associate Professor between 2021 and 2023 and has taught in the undergraduate programs. Dr. Omotowa worked as a bedside nurse for many years. She was the SON Interim Ph.D. Program Coordinator during 2023/24 academic year.

Dr. Omotowa is particularly interested in the care of older adults residing in nursing homes, nurse staffing, and health and aging policy. She has served and continue to serve on diverse committees, councils, and boards at the department, college, division, university, and community/state levels. Her role included being a member, chair, and vice-chair on many of these committees. Professionally, her contributions include being an external promotion, an editorial member/reviewer, a podium presentation moderator at international professional conferences, and serving in the Sigma Theta Tau International leadership roles.

Dr. Omotowa has authored/co-authored published articles and grants including grants submitted to the National Institute of Health (NIH R15) and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, ISU Faculty Seed Grant Program, ISU College of Health Research Grant (funded), and Internal Small Grant Program (funded). She served as a faculty grant proposals’ reviewer and presented at symposia/conferences.

Dr. Omotowa received her BSN from Lewis Clark State College; MSN and PhD in Nursing from Walden University; MA in Political Science from the University of Idaho; B.Sc. Political Science from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and MPA from the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.

Dr. Joshua Swift

Professor, Department of Psychology

Dr. Joshua K. Swift joined the faculty at Idaho State University in 2015. He earned his doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from Oklahoma State University and his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Brigham Young University. Prior to coming to Idaho State, he was a tenured faculty member at the University of Alaska Anchorage. At Idaho State University, he currently serves as the Chair for the Department of Psychology.

Dr. Swift enjoys teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels, including courses on professional ethics, self-care and well-being, psychopathology, and clinical skills. He is also an active researcher, with nearly 100 peer-reviewed publications and two books. One of the aspects he likes most about research is mentoring students in his lab, where they investigate mechanisms for improving the efficacy of psychotherapy for those who experience mental health concerns. Improving psychotherapy effectiveness is a driving passion behind Dr. Swift’s career, showing up in the teaching, research, and professional service that he engages in. Throughout his career, Dr. Swift has held several leadership service roles in professional organizations related to this passion, including his current positions as the President of the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy and the Executive Officer for the North American Chapter of the Society for Psychotherapy Research.

Dr. Neil Tocher

Professor, Department of Marketing & Management

Neil Tocher serves as both director of the Idaho State University (ISU) Commercialization Center and Professor and chairperson of the department of Marketing & Management. The ISU Commercialization Center seeks to enhance the number of SBIR/STTR applications and awards from Idaho entrepreneurs. Neil’s primary research interests focus on the influence of social resources on entrepreneurial outcomes, the influence of human resource management practices on the performance of small and emerging firms, and case writing.  His research has been published in such outlets as Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Group & Organization management, Business Case Journal, and Organization Management Journal.

Tocher has taught courses at the undergraduate and masters levels in entrepreneurship, venture consulting, strategic management, and organization behavior. Neil is also currently the Principal Investigator for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Federal and State Partnership (FAST) grant for the state of Idaho.