Faculty & Staff Directory
Dr. Raphael Chijioke Njoku
Director and Department Chair
(208) 282-4164
Raphael Chijioke Njoku, Director and Department Chair of Global Studies and Languages, graduated with a first-class honors from the University of Nigeria Nsukka and was Nigeria’s 16th Rhodes Scholar-elect in 1992. He received his doctorate in African History from Dalhousie University Canada in 2003. Early on, he had earned a doctorate in Political Science from Vrije University, Belgium in 2001. His research specialty is African history, politics, and culture, including the intersection between literature and African studies. He has also been working on themes related to the international studies since 1997.
Njoku is the author of Culture and Customs of Morocco (2005), African Cultural Values: Igbo Political Leadership in Colonial Nigeria 1900-1966 (2006), and co-editor of Missions, States, and European Expansion in Africa (2007), War and Peace in Africa (2010), African history (2010), Africa and the Wider World (2010), and The History of Somalia (2013). He has also authored 35 scholarly articles in international journals and edited volumes.
Some of his awards include: Eleanor Young Love Award for Distinguished scholarship (2006), Distinguished Research Award in the Category of Social Sciences (2009), Indiana University Library Residency Award (2009), Victor Olurunsola Endowed Research Award (2007), and the Schomburg Center award for Research in Black Studies (2006-07). Njoku is currently the Director and Chair of the Department of Global Studies and Languages at Idaho State University.
Anne Brookman
Adjunct Instructor, French
(208) 282-3043
Anne Brookman, Adjunct Instructor, French. Honors B.A. French and Secondary Education (University of Utah, 1988) M.A. French Literature (University of Oregon, 1991). Anne spent her university junior year studying in Angers, France. Later, she completed her first year of graduate study as a Rotary scholar at L'université Laval in Quebéc, Canada and a few years later participated in a 4-week Fulbright teacher exchange in Morocco, Africa (1996). Anne taught high school French for seven years before coming to ISU. She is the advisor to the ISU French Club.
Lisa Coffield
Adjunct Instructor, German
(208) 282-3043
Lisa Coffield, Adjunct Instructor, German. M.S. in Linguistic Anthropology (Idaho State University 2016), B.S. in Secondary Education, Emphases in German and French (Idaho State University 2009). She has been teaching at ISU since the Fall of 2010, and teaches first-year German. Lisa is certified to teach both German and French.
Sandra Dillon
Assistant Lecturer, German
(208) 282-2637
Sandra Dillon, Assistant Lecturer, German. PhD. German (University of Oregon 2011), M.A. German (University of Colorado, Boulder 2002), B.A. Spanish and German (Idaho State University 2000). Sandra Dillon was born in Berlin, Germany and shortly after graduating from high-school moved to the US. Because of her father’s occupation she lived six years in Venezuela and nine years in Mexico. Dr. Dillon grew up in a bilingual environment. When she moved to Pocatello in 1994, she pursued her interests in languages, literatures, and cultures at Idaho State University. Dr. Dillon is a Qualified Medical Interpreter for Spanish, she has a Graduate Teaching Certificate from the University of Colorado and a Graduate Certificate in Women's and Gender Studies from the University of Oregon. Her research interests include the Holocaust and representations of terrorism in literature and film.
Dr. Carmen Febles
Assistant Professor, Spanish
(208) 282-3043
Carmen Febles is an Assistant Professor of Spanish Language and Latin American Cultures in the Department of Global Studies and Languages with a specialization in 18th and 19th century Mexico and Cuba at Idaho State University. Broadly speaking, Dr. Febles is interested in distance and difference – in points of articulation across Spanish-speaking geographies, social hierarchies, genres and time periods. Her literature and culture publications include “Exploring the limits of transculturation: Pérez Firmat’s a Cuban in Mayberry:, “Erinia: Matas entre lo policial y lo fantástico”, “El pasado presente: La canonización del pasado americano como acto patriótico en la obra de Fray Servando Teresa de Mier”.
A secondary area of focus is language, culture and healthcare. To that end, Dr. Febles has presented and published research related to the care of refugees living in the United States, and has also produced work on the experiences of Latinx patients and care providers in Idaho. Recent work explores the delivery of pre-hospital emergency care to Limited English Proficiency Latinx individuals in Idaho. Dr. Febles is currently examining the articulation of health and medical practices and policies vis-à-vis national identities and the ways in which they intersect with cultural, racial and gendered experiences and knowledges of place and body.
Sachiko Fukuoka
Adjunct Instructor, Japanese
(208) 282-3763
Sachiko Fukuoka, Adjunct Instructor, Japanese. M. Ed. Instructional Technology (Idaho State University 1999). Ms. Fukuoka received her M.A. in Education in 2003, and began teaching Japanese in 2004. She has created programs which provide students various opportunities to go to Japan every year 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 Kaiko, a Japanese drum group.
David Heath
Senior Lecturer, Spanish, Lab Director
(208) 282-4070
David Heath, Senior Lecturer, Spanish. 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 Caribbean.
Dr. Zackery M. Heern
Associate Professor, Arabic, Chair of History Department
(208) 282-2877
Middle East, Islam, Iran, Iraq, Modern Islamic movements, Shi'i Islam, Islamic law, Intellectual History, Modernities, World History, Religion.
Sanae Johnsen
Assistant Lecturer, Japanese
(208) 282-3763
Sanae Johnsen, Assistant Lecturer, Japanese. M.Ed. Curriculum Development & Instruction (Idaho State University, 1995), B.S. Business Administration & Accounting (California State University Chico, 1990). Sanae Johnsen has initially developed and implemented the Japanese language program in the fall 1996. In fall 2004, the minor in Japanese started with additional language instructors. The course offerings have increased from a single course to multiple courses, covering various levels of Japanese language skills acquisition and cultural protocols. She has been an instructor in Japanese at Idaho State University since the fall of 1996 and has been an active member and advisor of ISU Japanese Club. She makes multiple trips to Japan every year to enhance her teaching skills.
Sarah McCurry
Assistant Lecturer, Spanish
(208) 282-3192
Sarah McCurry, Assistant Lecturer, Spanish. 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.
Dr. Malliga Och
Assistant Professor
(208) 282-3717
Malliga Och, is an Assistant Professor in the Global Studies and Languages Department at Idaho State University. She has a PhD from the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies. Her dissertation explained why conservative governments adopt feminist policies remedying economic inequalities for women. In her previous life, Malliga was the Research Director of Political Parity – a program of Hunt Alternatives in Cambridge, MA.
Malliga has extensive research experience in women and politics, particularly women’s access to political office in Europe and Asia, international women’s rights, as well as in comparative feminist policy research with a focus on parental leave and corporate board diversity. She is the author of “Unpacking the descriptive representation of women in Asian parliaments” (with Devin Joshi) and has taught comparative and international politics courses at the University of Colorado in Denver, Colorado State University, and Community College Denver. Outside of school, she serves as the CEDAW Co-Chair for the United Nations Association’s initiative Denver for CEDAW Campaign for its Denver Metro chapter.
In her past life, Malliga was a member of the Public Advisory Committee of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, Committee Chair for Educational Outreach at the United Nations Association Denver Chapter, and part of the Colorado Leadership Council of the White House Project. She was also a member of the Diversity Council of Big Sister Association Boston and a core member of Women in NAAP Boston.
Malliga holds a Magister Artium in Political Science, Communications, and Law from Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany and an MA in Political Science from the University of Colorado in Denver.
Dr. H. Cathleen Tarp
Associate Professor, Spanish
(208) 282-3329
Cathleen Tarp, Associate Professor, Spanish. 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.
Valia Tatarova
Assistant Lecturer, French
(208) 282-5732
Valia Tatarova, Assistant Lecturer, French. Valia went to the French boarding School "Romain Rolland" for five years. She obtained her M.A. in French Philology from Sofia University. She obtained a second M.A. from the University of Notre Dame du Lac. In her post-graduate, she specialized in Contemporary Methods of Teaching Foreign Languages, and wrote academic papers on topics related to its methodology. She has lived in France for four years, and has traveled extensively in Europe. She obtained the ISU Certificate of Quality Matters in Web course design, and has developed online courses.
She has taught French at the University of Notre Dame du Lac and at St. Mary's College before coming to ISU. She has been teaching at ISU for twelve years. She designed and taught 1101, 1102, and 300 level Business French. She is a member of the National French Honor Society Pi Delta Phi. She is particularly interested in contemporary methods of teaching foreign languages.
Dr. Andrew Wrobel
Assistant Professor, Spanish
Nancy Wells
Assistant Lecturer
(208) 282-3043
Nancy Wells, Assistant Lecturer. M.A. Spanish Linguistics (BYU), B.A. Spanish Translation and Interpretation with a minor in International Relations (BYU).
While working on her M.A. at BYU, Mrs. Wells taught first and second year Spanish at BYU. Mrs. Wells came to ISU as a lecturer in 1993 and taught first and second year Spanish at ISU for seven years before taking a break to spend time with her family. She has recently returned to ISU to teach as an Adjunct Instructor. During her years of absence she has spent numerous hours working and serving in the public school system with English Language Learners and their families. She enjoys translating and interpreting for the families and school staff members. She has lived in Uruguay, Spain, and Mexico, and she loves to travel.
Dr. King Yik
Assistant Professor
(208) 282-6283
King Yik, King Yik received his M.B.A. and Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago, specializing in international business. Despite his business education training, he has chosen to focus on liberal arts teaching. He has taught international economics and international management to both undergraduate and graduate students at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Michigan, and Idaho State University. He is a recipient of multiple teaching awards. His current research interest is on the role of international organizations in economic development.
Dr. Yolonda Youngs
Associate Professor
(208) 282-3043
Dr. Yolonda Youngs, Associate Professor, Ph.D. in Geography (Arizona State University, 2009), M.S. in Earth Sciences/Geography (Montana State University, 2004), B.A. in Anthropology (Florida State University, 1993). Her research specialties are world regional geography, cultural landscapes, historical-environmental geography, tourism & outdoor recreation, GIS, and national parks and protected areas.
Dr. Youngs has published her research in the Geographical Review, Environmental History, Society and Natural Resources: An International Journal. She is currently completing a two book projects: Framing Nature: The Making of an American Icon at the Grand Canyon (University of Nebraska Press) and is the co-editor (with Dr. Geoffrey L. Buckley, Ohio University) of The American Environment Revisited: Historical Geographies for the Twenty-First Century (Rowman and Littlefield Publishers). She serves on the editorial board of Historical Geography (journal). She is the author of Shaping Tourism in North American Odyssey: Historical Geographies for the Twenty-First Century and is anticipating a forthcoming book chapter about Yellowstone Lake (in Designs Upon Nature: The Cultural Landscape of Yellowstone National).
Her research has been funded through grants from the National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Idaho Humanities Council, and the Association of American Geographers. She currently is an active researcher in the NSF EPSCoR MILES project, focusing on historic landscapes and ecosystem services (http://miles.isu.edu/grp2.html) past. Dr. Youngs' research is also supported by grants from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service in Grand Teton National Park. Dr. Youngs is active in national and international scholarly networks. She has presented her research in Chile, Russia, Tunisia, Australia, France, and Spain. She has lived in Italy and travelled extensively throughout Europe. She is an active member of the International Geographical Union, International Cartographic Association, and served as a U.S. National Committee Scholar.
Dr. Youngs teaches courses in World Regional Geography, Historical Geography of National Parks, Introduction to Cultural Geography, Global Tourism, and Environment, Geography, & Sustainability.
Emeritus Faculty
Arthur Dolsen
Professor Emeritus
Office: 328 Business Administration
(208) 282-3911
Arthur Dolsen, Professor Emeritus. 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 the works of Thucydides.
Pamela Park
Professor Emerita
Pamela Park, Professor Emerita, French. French Literature (CUNY 1979), License in French (University of Nancy 1974) B.A. French (Fordham University 1972).