gasstsus@aquinas.edu
sgasster@yahoo.com
(616) 632-2118 |
Susan Gasster-Carrierre, Ph.D.
Professor of French and Spanish
Dr. Susan Gasster-Carrierre received her bachelor's degree from the Georgetown Language Institute in Washington, D.C. and her Ph.D. in comparative literature from the George Washington University. She has traveled widely in West and North Africa and in South America, and has taught as a Fulbright professor in Peru and the Ivory Coast. Her research and publications are in the area of the West African French-language novel and Portuguese writers dealing with the Portuguese colonial presence in Mozabique and Angola. At Aquinas, Dr. Gasster teaches courses on French and Spanish language, Latin American literature and culture, and participates in the fourth-year comparative cultures Core course.
She also offers a course on French civilization and film, in which she discusses the films of French-speaking Africa. For the last seven years she has taught semester-long courses in theService Learning Program, dealing with Haiti, ElSalvador, Mexico and Honduras, and accompanying these students to work in the respective communities. |
grosskat@aquinas.edu
(616) 632-2122 |
Katharina Häusler Gross, Ph. D.
Associate Professor of German and Foreign Language Methodology
Dr. Katharina Häusler-Gross joined the Aquinas faculty in the fall of 1998. She earned her Ph.D. in German and Cultural Studies from Michigan State University, holds a teaching degree in English and Russian (K-12) from the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt Universität Greifswald/ Germany, studied at the State University Odessa (Ukraine), and completed her Second State Exam (equivalent to the M.A.) in English and German at the Berliner Senatsverwaltung in Berlin/ Germany.
Dr. Häusler-Gross came to the U.S. as a Fulbright Scholar, teaching German and Russian at Westminster College, PA. Additional teaching experiences include teaching Foreign Languages in K-12 (Germany), college-level German (Michigan State University, Universität Tübingen), and German as a Foreign Language (DaF) at the Goethe-Institute, Chicago.
At Aquinas, Dr. Häusler-Gross is Head of the German Program, where she teaches all levels from beginning language to advanced content courses, German Literature, Culture and Civilization, Business German, and Studies of German Culture and Society through Film.
She also coordinates the Methodology courses for Teaching Foreign Languages in K-8 and Secondary Schools which are offered for prospective FL teachers at Aquinas College.
As a Volunteer Teacher at the German Language School of West Michigan, Dr. Häusler-Gross keeps promoting the German language and culture in the Grand Rapids area and offers children the opportunity to learn and expand their knowledge of German, and engage in cross-cultural exchanges.
Her scholarly interests include research in Second Language Acquisition, German and Cultural Studies, and Methodology of Foreign Language Teaching. Her love for other languages and cultures keeps her traveling extensively throughout Eastern and Western Europe and the United States. |
pichomic@aquinas.edu
(616) 632-2120 |
Michel Pichot, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of French and Chairperson
Dr. Pichot joined the Aquinas family in the Fall of 2002. He is an Associate Professor of French who teaches French courses at all levels. He holds a B.A. in History from Atlantic Union College, a M.A. in Language and International Trade from Eastern Michigan University, a M.A. in French Literature from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. in French from The Pennsylvania State University. Prior to his appointment at Aquinas College, he taught at Clemson University and Andrews University. His areas of specialization are applied French to international business, French translation, and history of French civilization. He has presented and published research on French social history of colonial Algeria. He has traveled extensively and lived in Europe and several countries of Africa. |
romermar@aquinas.edu
(616) 632-2123 |
Marcos Romero Asencio, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Spanish
Dr. Marcos Romero Asencio earned his Ph. D. in Spanish from the University of New Mexico where he was awarded a Fray Angélico Chávez Fellowship and a Graduate Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship. He taught college-level Spanish for nine years at the University of New Mexico and Indiana University East before arriving at Aquinas in 2005. He teaches introductory to advanced level Spanish courses, and his research interests include medieval Spanish narrative, paleography, iconography, Golden Age drama and Spanish film. He is married and has two children and two corgis. In an effort to meld his Spanish and New Mexican heritage, he hopes to one day own an apartment in the Plaza Mayor in Madrid, Spain and to cruise the streets of Madrid in a '67 Chevy Impala convertible |
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rottsshe@aquinas.edu
(616)632-5704 |
Shelli Rottschafer, Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish
Dr. Shelli Rottschafer is a returning one-year Visiting Professor of Spanish in the Modern Language Department. Presently, she teaches Spanish 102, 201, and 301. Dr. Rottschafer is also involved with the Women’s Studies Programming Committee. She has been the co-leader to the South Manitou Island Service Learning Retreat over Labor Day Weekend; and will be leading students to El Llano, Dominican Republic over Fall Midterm Break. In addition, Dr. Rottschafer will chaperone the Fall Study Abroad students to their orientation in Salamanca, Spain.
Dr. Rottschafer completed her graduate work from the University of New Mexico receiving her PhD in Spanish with a focus in Latin American Contemporary Literature in December 2005. Summer of 2006 she moved from New Mexico back to Grand Rapids, Michigan where she was born and raised. Dr. Rottschafer also attended Hope College for her BA in Spanish and History, and Miami University in Oxford, Ohio for her MA. In addition to travel, Dr. Rottschafer may be seen riding her road bike in Ada, hiking along the Michigan shoreline, or telemark skiing up north. Cheers to a great year at Aquinas. |
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Adjunct Faculty |
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quedquis@yahoo.com
(616) 516-1764 |
Phil Chase, M.A.
Lecturer of Spanish |
(616) 632-8900
ext. 5963 |
Alane Day
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Spanish
Alane Day has been teaching Spanish at Aquinas since 1997. She primarily teaches first level courses, but has taught second-year Spanish, as well as the Oaxaca (Mexico) Service-Learning Course. She received her B.S. from Purdue University, and has lived, worked, and travelled in Mexico, Central America, and Peru. She also has taught Spanish at a K-8 Catholic school and at a homeschool co-op, and has been involved with ESL. She is the proud mom of 4 brilliant children ages 17-13 whom she homeschooled into middle school. Her heart’s desire is “to know God and to make Him known.” |
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mld001@aquinas.edu
(616) 632-2065 |
M. Laura Dentel, M.A.
Lecturer of Spanish |
(616) 632-8900
ext. 5699 |
Deborah Eid
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Spanish |
floreeli@aquinas.edu
(616) 632-2436 |
Elizabeth Flores
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Spanish |
matsukay@aquinas.edu
(616) 632-2154 |
Kayoko Matsumoto-Hoover, Ph.D.
Adjunct Associate Professor of Japanese |
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steemviv@aquinas.edu
(616) 632-2120 |
Vivan Steemers, Ph.D.
Adjunct Associate Professor of French
Vivan Steemers received a Bachelor’s degree in French Language and Literature and a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature, both from the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands. In the spring of 2007 she completed a Ph.D. in French Literature and Postcolonial Theory at Michigan State University on the reception of francophone sub-Saharan literature in France. Her areas of interest include - apart from culture (literature) in general - francophone literature, French culture and business French. Currently Dr. Steemers teaches both French and Western Humanities at Aquinas College. Prior to moving to Michigan in 2001 she lived in Germany and the United Kingdom and has taught at Dutch and American institutions of higher education. |
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