Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota is proud to announce the following full-time Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs (SGPP) faculty members who were promoted in 2020-21.
John Ebert, professor and director of Data Intelligence and GeoAnalytics program
Education
Ed.D. in Leadership, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
M.S. in Resource Analysis, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
B.S. in Geoscience, Winona State University
Dr. Ebert has been an associate professor and director of the M.S. in Data Intelligence and GeoAnalytics program, the Geographic Information Science (GIS) certificate, and the Data Engineering certificate since 2002. In addition to maintaining nearly a full-time teaching load, Dr. Ebert also serves other programs including the marketing undergraduate program and the business intelligence and data analytics graduate program where needed. Dr. Ebert is passionate about the use of geoanalytics in problem solving and enjoys advising and working with graduate students on their research projects. He has presented research at Google headquarters, Minnesota GIS/LIS Consortium, State of Minnesota, Upper Midwest GEOCON, and the Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Business Intelligence Summit.
Sue Hines, core professor in the Doctor of Education in Leadership program
Education
Ed.D. in Leadership, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
M.A. in Education, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
B.A. in Educational Psychology, Metropolitan State University
Certificate in Veterinary Technology, Argosy University
Dr. Hines’ research interest is faculty development evaluation. Her work has resulted in several publications in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Faculty Development, To Improve the Academy, AXIS: Journal of Lasallian Higher Education, and Magna Publications. She has presented her research at numerous national conferences and has received research grants to support her studies. She recently completed and published a nationwide field-testing project to validate her faculty development program evaluation model and intends to co-author a book on the topic.
She provides presentations, workshops, and webinars on topics of adult learning at regional colleges, has served on an advisory board for a local private college, is a past editorial board member for the Journal of International Students, is currently on the editorial board for the Journal of Faculty Development and To Improve the Academy, and is an active member and organizational contributor for the Professional Organizational Development (POD) Network.
Paul Kotz, core professor in the Doctor of Education in Leadership program
Education
Ph.D. in Philosophy of Education, University of Minnesota
M.Ed. in Work/Community/Family Education, University of Minnesota
B.A. in Mathematics/Quantitative Methods, University of St. Thomas
Dr. Kotz is a career educator with education and business expertise. This includes working with high school, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students in the areas of management, leadership, operations, strategy, statistical analysis, and doctoral research preparation. Prior to his teaching career, he was a reinsurance actuary in both life and property casualty insurance. He also served as a manager for customer service at North American Life and Casualty prior to his education pursuits, and department chair for General Education at Anoka Hennepin Technical College.
Dr. Kotz’s teaching philosophy is unique in that many students in his ethics, organizational effectiveness, and statistics courses would say, “I think I’m in a philosophy course,” as he takes a broader view of the mechanics of these disciplines and how it enables value-based decision-making. Currently, he teaches doctoral courses in preparation of literature review, methodology, results, conclusions, and recommendations for business, education, and health care in the Doctor of Education in Leadership program. Dr. Kotz also assists students in preparing research and in the defense of and presentation of dissertations/theses and performance results studies in education, business, national security, leadership, social justice and health care management. This involves working with students over a 3-4 year period to complete their life’s work. Dr. Kotz enjoys writing and has published the following books:
- Kotz, P. E. (2020). Profiles in Kindness: Stories of Inspiration & Everyday Leadership (2nd ed., Vol. 1). Outskirts Press.
- Kotz, P. E. (2018). Something Happened Today: A Collection of the Unexpected (2nd ed., Vol. 1). Outskirts Press.
- Kotz, P. E. (2014). Personality, Gender & Learning Styles: Teaching to Student Aptitudes (1st ed., Vol. 1). Scholars’ Press.
Signe Nestingen, core professor in the Doctor of Psychology in Counseling Psychology program
Education
Psy.D. in Counseling Psychology, University of St. Thomas
M.A. in Counseling Psychology, Adler Institute, Chicago, Ill.
B.A. Major, Sociology; Minor, Communications, Augsburg College
Dr. Nestingen began teaching at Saint Mary’s in 2007 and began teaching in the doctoral counseling psychology program in 2010. She serves as the director of clinical training, is a core faculty member, and is the mentorship coordinator. Dr. Nestingen teaches doctoral students each semester with a rotating number of classes and must stay current to teach these classes. She also attends community and academic training seminars and presents in both community and academic settings. She has a small clinical practice that she has maintained for more than 30 years, and she sees both individuals and couples in that practice. She has provided consultation for individuals and groups for issues related to the science of human behavior in college counseling centers, educational programs, health care centers, and for small group practices. Dr. Nestingen is active in the Minnesota Psychological Association (MPA) and serves on both the ethics and diversity committees.
Matt Nowakowski, core professor and director of the Doctor of Business Administration program
Education
B.S.E. (Biology and History), University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
MBA, Edgewood College, Madison, Wis.
Doctor of Education in Leadership, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
Dr. Nowakowski writes and presents on individual resilience and community resilience and was named a Distinguished Lasallian Educator at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in 2020. He has presented work at the Academy of Management, Midwest Academy of Management, Southwest Academy of Management, Management and Organizational Behavior Teaching Society, CAEL Conference, International Symposium on Lasallian Research, International Conference on Catholic Social Thought and Business Education, and the Huether Conference. He has published works in MBA Innovation, The Digital Journal of Lasallian Research, and AXIS: Journal of Lasallian Higher Education. Dr. Nowakowski is currently a member of the editorial board of AXIS: Journal of Lasallian Higher Education and is a reviewer for the Academy of Management. He also worked in corporate and customer training at Nicolet Instruments/Thermo Electron Corporation with international assignments in Japan, Sweden, Finland, and Saudi Arabia.
Jerome Shih, core associate professor in the Doctor of Psychology in Counseling Psychology program
Education
Ph.D., Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota
M.A., Counseling Psychology, University of St. Thomas
Information Systems Analysis and Design Certificate, University of Minnesota
B.A., East Asian Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Prior to joining the faculty in the Psy.D. program, Dr. Shih was employed for more than 10 years as assistant director of University of Minnesota Student Counseling Services. In addition to college counseling, he has worked as a counseling psychologist in community mental health and corporate settings. Dr. Shih has taught for many years as course-contracted faculty in the master’s in counseling and psychological services program at Saint Mary’s, as well as in the counseling and student personnel psychology program at the University of Minnesota.
Zak Mayo, Department of Business and Communication at the College, promoted to associate professor
Education
Ph.D. Sport Management, Troy University
M.B.A., College of Business Administration, The College of St. Joseph, Rutland, Vt.
B.S. Sport Administration, School of Health, Human Movement, and Sport, Castleton University, Castleton, Vt.
Dr. Mayo has been a valued colleague and leader, always willing to work for the good of his students and colleagues. He recently joined the Strategic Planning Committee of COSMA (Commission on Sports Management Accreditation), which helps direct and guide the future of the study of sports management. His consulting roles with ESPN, Elite Dribble, and Ensign Athletics allowed him to bring experiences directly to the classroom to benefit students. One of the highlights of his career thus far with Saint Mary’s is his efforts to form a unique partnership with the ESPN X Games. He formalized the agreement with the X Games to bring this experiential opportunity to Saint Mary’s students. He actively recruits, screens, and prepares students for this opportunity. Dr. Mayo was instrumental as a member of the Strategic Initiative No. 3 team as the university built and piloted new pathway programs in business.
Congratulations to these outstanding faculty colleagues.