Faculty
Faculty in the Department of Modern Foreign Languages (MDFL) are passionate educators and mentors who are dedicated to helping students increase their language proficiency and expand their knowledge of and appreciation for world cultures and literatures. Recognized for their expertise and excellence in teaching, MDFL faculty strive to provide personalized attention to each student, to foster meaningful relationships with students for guidance and support, and to inspire students to pursue life-long learning.
Whether a foreign language is your only major or one of your majors, a MDFL faculty member will work closely with you to help you decide on classes, to keep you on track and on task in fulfilling the General education requirements, and to assist you with your study abroad, graduate school, and career choices and aspirations.
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Dr. Scott Fish |
Spring 2010 Office Hours |
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Dr. Fish received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin and teaches all levels of French language and Francophone cultures and literatures in the department's French program, and also leads a spring-break course to Paris. His primary research interests include André Gide, autobiography and autobiographical theory, seventeenth-century theater, and postcolonial Central and West African cinema. He has published articles and given conference presentations on Gide and Beckett. Dr. Fish has earned many awards for teaching including the first Outstanding Faculty Recognition Award given by the Augustana student body, and the 2006 Teacher of the Year Award from the South Dakota World Languages Association. Besides teaching at Augustana since 1995, Dr. Fish also serves as the National President of Pi Delta Phi, the National French Honor Society, and is a past president of the South Dakota chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French. |
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Elizabeth Herman |
Spring 2010 Office Hours |
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Elizabeth Herman is currently completing her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia and teaches courses in Spanish language and Hispanic cultures. Her courses include Introduction to Spanish, Spanish Composition and Conversation, Survey of Spanish Literature, and 20th-Century Spanish Theater. The primary focus of her research is Modern Peninsular Literature, especially nineteenth-century Spanish theater. Elizabeth draws on her experience living and studying in Madrid, Spain to bring a broader world-view into her classroom. In addition to teaching, her advising interests include helping students identify study abroad programs, Spanish Club, and outreach to the local Hispanic Community of Sioux Falls. |
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Dr. Stephan Lhotzky |
Spring 2010 Office Hours |
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Dr. Lhotzky received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado. He is a native of Germany and taught at North Central College before joining the Augustana faculty in 1987. He teaches courses at all levels in the German program. His academic focus includes Thomas Mann, German Romanticism, and National Socialism. He has done work in the areas of German pioneers of education, the relationship between the United States and Europe, and the history of the German song. Dr. Lhotzky translated a major book about the Hutterite colonies in North America and is the translator of the songs of German poet and songwriter Franz Josef Degenhardt into English. Dr. Lhotzky was instrumental in establishing the sister cities relationship between Sioux Falls and Potsdam, Germany. He is the coordinator of the Augustana assistantship program in Germany, a year-long program enabling Augustana graduates to work as English assistants at several German high schools. |
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Sam Ogdie |
Spring 2010 Office Hours |
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Sam Ogdie received his Masters Degree in Selected Studies from the University of South Dakota and teaches the department's courses in Intermediate Spanish, Spanish for Medical Professionals, and an Education 310 class in Secondary School Methods for World Language Teachers. For four years Professor Ogdie has taught an Interim course in Spain and Morocco titled, "Arab and Jewish Inflluence in Spain and Morocco". Before coming to Augustana, Professor Ogdie was the Department Chair of World Languages at O'Gorman High School in Sioux Falls. In the past 15 years he has received three National Endowment Grants to study topics in the Spanish language and culture, a scholarship from the Spanish Embassy to study in Salamanca and three trips with Ohio and Michigan State professors to study and live in Latin American Countries. In 2002, Professor Ogdie received The U.S. Department of Education "Teachers Recognition Award" in Washington D.C. Professor Ogdie is Chair of Augustana's Co-Curriculum Committee and is faculty advisor for the campus Chess Club and Spanish Club. He holds a South Dakota Real Estate Broker's license and works closely with the Sioux Falls Hispanic Community to find affordable housing. |
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Florence Thompsen |
Spring 2010 Office Hours |
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Originally from Belgium, Professor Thompsen holds a Diplôme d'institutrice primaire from Les hautes écoles de Charleroi, in Mons, Belgium. She teachers first and second semester French, and helps to advise Le Cercle Français, Augie's French club. |
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Dr. Tomás Vivancos |
Spring 2010 Office Hours |
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Dr. Vivancos received his Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati. He teaches courses in Hispanic language, literature, culture, and cinema. He was born in Cartagena, Spain. His interests are Latin American and Spanish Literature of the 19th and 20th Centuries, Peninsular and Latin American culture, Latin American and Spanish Cinema, Comparative Literature and language teaching methodology. |
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Virginia Wempe |
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Professor Wempe obtained her B.A. in Spanish from South Dakota State University. She teaches first and second semester Spanish. |
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Dorothy Wheeler |
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Professor Wheeler received her B.S. from the University of South Dakota and her M.A. from the University of Northern Colorado. She is currently completing a Ph.D. in Educational Curriculum and Instruction at the University of South Dakota. Professor Wheeler's research interests include: Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, the Golden Age of Spain, and Mexican cinema. She teachers first- and second-semester language courses in the Spanish program. |
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