Dr. Amanda Eller

Clinical Professor, Department of Teaching and Educational Studies

Dr. Amanda L. Eller is a Clinical Professor in the College of Education’s Department of Teaching and Educational Studies, based at the ISU-Twin Falls campus. Dr. Eller was a first-generation college student who followed her dream of being a teacher, graduating from ISU’s Teacher Education Program in 1998. She later pursued graduate degrees while teaching full time, including a MEd in Technology from Lesley University, an EdS in Educational Leadership/K-12 Administration from Northwest Nazarene University, and a PhD in Educational Leadership, also from NNU.

In her 11 years at ISU, Dr. Eller has taught 23 different courses and in all modalities. Prior to 2020, Dr. Eller led the in-person undergraduate Teacher Education Program in Twin Falls. After that, she transitioned to online teaching in both undergraduate and graduate education programs. She has worked diligently to promote teacher preparation within the Magic Valley and partners with faculty at the College of Southern Idaho to provide an easy transition for their students into ISU’s programs. Dr. Eller has received several “Be a Bengal” commendations from students and colleagues focused on service to students.

Regardless of modality or course, Dr. Eller’s students consistently provide positive feedback regarding the connections she makes with them, her knowledge, her quality course design, and how much they learn from her. With 16 years of prior experience in K-5 teaching, she brings a wealth of practical knowledge to her courses. Dr. Eller is passionate about teaching, and about helping to prepare high-quality, effective future teachers.

Dr. Lauren MacDonald

Assistant Professor, Department of History

Lauren MacDonald is an assistant professor of history at Idaho State University. She graduated with PhD in history from Johns Hopkins University in 2018. Her research, focusing on religion and empire in the sixteenth-century Caribbean, has been supported by the Folger Shakespeare Library, the John Carter Brown Library, the Library of Congress, the U.S. Fulbright Program, and the U.S. Department of Education.

At Idaho State University, she teaches classes on the Americas, religion, and world history. By focusing on collaborative reading, creative projects, and interactive discussion in her courses, she invites students to think analytically and cooperatively about complicated histories. She has served as the faculty advisor for ISU's local chapter of the national Phi Alpha Theta history honors society since 2021. Every spring, she brings ISU history students to exotic cities in other states -- Bellingham, Ellensburg, Cheney, Missoula -- to present their original historical research at the annual Pacific Northwest Regional Phi Alpha Theta conference. She hopes to teach students to develop self-directed habits of asking new questions and finding ways to answer those questions that will persist after they graduate from ISU.

Dr. Leslie Nickerson

Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry

Leslie Nickerson is an assistant professor in the chemistry department at ISU. As an Idaho native, Leslie earned her BS in chemistry from the University of Idaho before venturing out of state to attend the University of California, Davis for her PhD followed by a post-doctoral position at Smith College in Massachusetts as a teaching and research fellow. During her PhD and post-doc experiences, Nickerson experienced a variety of teaching styles and was first introduced to evidence-based practices around active learning at Smith College. During her post-doc, Nickerson was fortunate enough to co-teach with Prof. Kevin Shea and gained experience in a flipped classroom taught with empathy and care.

Since arriving at ISU in 2021, Nickerson regularly teaches the organic chemistry sequence and the accompanying labs as well as advanced courses in organic chemistry and an experimental course focused on preparing near-peer students to serve as learning assistants. Nickerson believes in encouraging a strong sense of community in her classes and runs her sophomore-level organic courses in a flipped style focused on collaborative learning in groups supported by near-peer student learning assistants. While teaching and mentoring in the laboratory, Nickerson actively works to encourage students to develop independence in their experimental skills and learn from mistakes in a safe setting. Nickerson hopes to begin changing the reputation of an often-feared subject by generating a positive, supportive environment focused on embracing challenges.

Dr. Marie Stango

Assistant Professor, Department of History

Marie Stango is a historian of the nineteenth century United States, and Assistant Professor of History at Idaho State University. She is a first-generation college graduate, earning her BA in History from New York University and PhD in History from the University of Michigan. Stango joined the ISU community in Fall 2019 and teaches courses ranging from General Education undergraduate classes to graduate-level seminars. She offers courses on a variety of topics, including women’s history, early American history, religion in American history, and a course on the history of witchcraft and magic. In all her courses, she aims to offer students research opportunities. Since 2023 she has worked with the Sharing Stories from 1977 digital humanities initiative at the University of Houston to provide ISU undergraduate students with the unique opportunity to research and digitally publish their work on delegates to the 1977 National Women’s Conference.

Stango has twice been awarded an Open and Affordable Education Resources grant from ISU to find free or low-cost materials for her General Education courses and was named an ISU Textbook Hero in 2020. She works closely with future K-12 educators pursuing History endorsements and regularly teaches a course for teacher candidates on History pedagogy. Similarly, she supervises MA students in the History department and has worked with numerous current high school teachers completing their MA in History, as well as dual enrollment instructors in our local high schools.

Dr. Irene van Woerden

Associate Professor, Department of Community and Public Health

Dr. van Woerden is a dedicated educator in the Department of Community and Public Health at ISU, where she teaches graduate level courses. She obtained her PhD from Arizona State University (ASU), along with masters in Statistics from ASU and from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. She also holds a Bachelors in Statistics and Chemistry from the University of Waikato in New Zealand.

With a strong background in research, Dr. van Woerden brings a wealth of experience into the classroom, and integrates research into her teaching. Dr. van Woerden’s teaching is student focused, with an emphasis on the practical applications of class content. Dr. van Woerden connects the content of her lessons to real-world public health challenges, and prepares students to use the skills she teaches in their careers. Dr. van Woerden encourages her students to conduct their own research, and publish their findings. As part of her advanced statistics course, she encourages her students to present at the ISU Graduate Research Symposium. Dr. van Woerden’s students have been awarded the best presentation in the “Health Nutrition, and Clinical Sciences” category at this Symposium twice.

Dr. David Delehanty

Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

David Delehanty is a Professor of Biology at Idaho State University where he has been engaged in teaching, research, and service for the past 25 years. Dave teaches ornithology, animal behavior, mammalogy, and conservation biology to graduate and undergraduate students and together they have produced numerous scientific papers, book chapters, and theses on the breeding behavior, reproductive biology, and population restoration of birds native to the American West. With the good fortune of excellent colleagues in Biological Sciences and many outstanding collaborators nationwide, Dave has been able to supervise the degree completion of 26 graduate students while at ISU as well as bring more than $3M in research awards to ISU. Dave received his Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology from the University of Nevada, Reno following an M.S. in Biology from the University of North Dakota and a B.S. in Wildlife from the University of Minnesota in his home state.

Dr. Devaleena Pradhan

Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

Devaleena S. Pradhan is an Associate Professor of Physiology and joined the Department of Biological Sciences at Idaho State University in 2018. She received her BS in Animal Biology in 2004 and MSc in Zoology in 2006 from University of British Columbia. In 2014, she earned her PhD in Neurobiology and Behavior from Georgia State University and then pursued her postdoctoral training at University of California, Los Angeles. At ISU, Dr. Pradhan has established a vibrant research program through receiving grants from agencies such as the Murdock Charitable Trust, Idaho EPSCoR, and the prestigious NSF CAREER award in 2022 that has provided 5 years of funding for her lab. Her group is at the forefront of discovery of novel scientific approaches to answer complex questions in reproduction and behavioral performance using an integrative approach that combines information at the molecular level (e.g. genes) to biochemical and whole animal level. She has intersected her research with teaching through establishing a Vertically Integrated Project course. Since the start of her research program at ISU, she has mentored a community of >60 trainees, resulting in >50 student presentations, including 4 best presentation awardees. Her mentees have successfully received their own research funding and internships through local and state-wide opportunities. With her trainees, she has founded the “Science Experiences for All” (SEA) Program with her trainees, that provides science engagement programs to the community. She has consistently reviewed scientific articles in top journals in her field and served on several grant review panels.

Dr. Kurt Sundell

Assistant Professor, Department of Geosciences

Kurt Sundell is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geosciences. Kurt is a geologist interested in tectonic processes, interrogated through the lens of the sedimentary record. His research is typically field-focused, with projects in the South American central Andes, southern Tibet, northern India, and most recently in the Intermountain West. Kurt complements field-based observations with a variety of analytical techniques including U-Th-Pb geochronology, Lu-Hf and trace element geochemistry, stable isotopic analysis (O and H), and (U-Th)/He thermochronology. Kurt likes to take a quantitative approach to geologic problems, which has led him down the fun path of developing quantitative sediment provenance methods as software for the greater research community and applying these tools to his own work.

Dr. Mustafa Mashal

Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Dr. Mustafa Mashal is a full professor with tenure in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He serves as a Special Advisor in the Office for Research, Joint Appointee at Idaho National Laboratory, and Associate Director for the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES). Mustafa is also the founder and Director of the Structural Laboratory and the Disaster Response Complex at ISU. He holds a Doctorate in Civil Engineering with a focus on Structural and Earthquake Engineering from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Mustafa is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) and CAES. He has been part of more than 150 scholarly publications, four granted/filed patents, and has been serving on national technical committees tasked with the development of standards. Mustafa has received ~$4M in funding with ~$3M as Principal Investigator. He is the recipient of three Fulbright grants, ASCE’s Alfred Noble Prize and the Outstanding Civil Engineer of the Year (Southern Idaho Section), Idaho Business Review’s Accomplished Under 40, AASHTO High Value Research Award, University of Canterbury Visiting Erskine Fellowship, and many other national and international accolades. Mustafa joined ISU in 2016 after spending more than 8 years in industry in three continents. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Idaho and New Zealand. His research has been implemented in real-life structures around the globe. Mustafa is a world-renowned expert in precast concrete, seismic analysis and design, and large-scale testing.

Dr. Raphael Njoku

Professor, Department of History

Dr. Raphael Chijioke Njoku, Department of History, teaches history and global studies courses at Idaho State University. His research specialty is African history and culture, especially decolonization, intellectual history, nationalism, war and peace, and African Diaspora. He is the author of Queen Elizabeth and the Africans: Narrating Decolonization and African Development, 1947 to 2022 (Leuven University Press, 2024), West African Masking Traditions and African Diaspora Masquerade Carnivals (Rochester University Press, 2020) and United States and Africa Relations: 1400s to Present (Yale University Press, 2020). Njoku has published 12 books (comprising 49 peer-reviewed essays), 44 peer-reviewed articles in academic journals and edited volumes, 29 short essays, 17 book reviews, and 87 academic presentations. His West African Masquerade book, accessed 36,120 times in 190 territories, was nominated for the Katherine Briggs Book Prize in 2021. It has been considered for the prestigious 2025 ACLS Open Access Book Prize and Arcadia Open Access Publishing Award. Njoku, who was inducted into the “Nigeria Academy of Letters” (NAL) in 2023, is on a Canadian Government-funded CAD$2.5 million “Participedia Democracy Research Team." His current research under the “Democratic Representation Cluster" focuses on the history of democratic collapses in Nigeria. When completed, it will shed more light on the dynamics of democratic relapses in this most populous African country.

Dr. Colden Baxter

Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

Colden Baxter is a Professor of Biological Sciences at Idaho State University. He leads the Stream Ecology Center and directs the cross disciplinary and community partnership-focused Center for Ecological Research and Education. With many students, collaborators, and community partners, his research focuses on rivers and streams, ecological linkages between water and land, and connections between people and rivers.  During his 21 years at ISU, Colden’s service activities have been diverse and extensive. A global leader in his discipline, he was elected and served as president of the international Society for Freshwater Science. Locally, he has been an active contributor to long-term efforts to improve stewardship of the Portneuf watershed and revitalize the Pocatello community’s connection to the Portneuf River.  Colden has also worked for many years as a partner with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes to accomplish research and educational goals, cultivate collaborative Tribal-university relationships, and co- produce freshwater science in service of the Tribal community. Colden’s service within the ISU community has also been extensive, ranging from serving as director of graduate degree programs in Biological Sciences to his 9 years as a faculty senator, and recent service as the Chair of the Faculty Senate. Colden and his wife Lenny are parents to two daughters, Arwen and Iris.

Dr. Diana Campanella Schow

Associate Professor, Department of Community and Public Health

Dr. Campanella Schow has worked in the fields of social justice and health promotion for more than 30 years. She employs community-based research approaches to improve health status, healthcare access and wellness for individuals, communities and organizations in rural and underserved areas. Her work has involved direct services, program administration, research and volunteerism. Populations of focus have included victims of child abuse, victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, Hispanic agricultural workers, Native Americans, persons in poverty and individuals receiving and applying for disability, food stamps, Medicaid and emergency assistance.

While she has loved working in Peru and Europe, her passion is the rural Rocky Mountain West.  She led the development and implementation of Idaho State University’s Graduate Certificate in Rural Health and served as the director of Southeast Idaho AHEC between 2018 and 2022 and as the director of Idaho AHEC between 2022 and 2024. In these positions she collaborated with multiple organizations across the state to recruit, train and retain health professionals – an important task, as almost 100% of the state is a health professions shortage area.

She disseminates her work through venues that appeal to broad audiences. Currently, she is co-producing a Podcast for the Idaho Rural Health Association – “Eye on Idaho – Stories from Rural Places.” Stay tuned for some fabulous stories from all the people who make up our beautiful, majestic state.

Dr. Elizabeth Redd

Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology

Dr. Elizabeth Redd is the Director of American Indian Studies at ISU and an assistant professor of Anthropology as well as a mother of four thoughtful and kind adult children. Dr. Redd’s research focuses on language revitalization, language sovereignty, linguistic resilience, and Native-engaged research ethics. In addition to her teaching and research, Dr. Redd also engages in service to Native communities. She has spent the last 20 years of her schooling and career working to support Native communities in working with their languages. She has worked to record and document Native languages at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History’s language archives. She has attended community and university Native language classes and supported teachers in both types of programs, led workshops and outreach activities to raise awareness of the value of Native languages for local and campus communities, and worked for many years for the Native American Youth Language Fair. She was the Visiting Director of the Native American Languages and Linguistics Masters’ program at the University of Arizona, where she hosted language fairs and even added her own weight to sandbags to hold down a screen on a very windy night at a family night movie on the lawn screening of Finding Nemo in Navajo. The work she is proudest of, though, outside of raising her children, is in teaching and supporting Native students to do language work with their communities. 

Dr. Karen Hartman

Professor, Department of Communication, Media and Persuasion

Karen L. Hartman is a Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and Persuasion at Idaho State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Rhetoric from Louisiana State University and her research interests revolve largely around the role of sport in the United States and how language and public relations efforts frame athletes, institutions, and laws. She has published over two dozen research articles, including publications in the International Journal of Sport Communication, Journal of Global Sport Management, Communication Research Reports, and the Journal of International  Crisis and Risk Communication Research. 

Hartman serves as the Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) at ISU, taking over the position in October 2020. Beyond working to ensure student athlete welfare and academic success, she has served on eight conference committees, including chairing the Big Sky Conference Council. As part of this role, she also chairs ISU’s Athletics Advisory Board and chaired the 3-year review of the 5-year Gender Equity in Athletics report in 2024. Beyond the FAR position, Hartman served as Chair of the National Communication Association’s Communication and Sport Division in 2018 and has been involved with the International Association for Communication and Sport (IACS) since 2006, holding positions as Vice-Chair (2012-2013), Chair (2013-2014) and Executive Director (2019 – 2024). Since 2019, she has also served on the editorial board of SAGE’s journal, Communication & Sport. A former Division-I athlete at Furman University, Hartman worked as a publicist in the entertainment industry before going into academia. 

Dr. Mona Xu

Professor, Department of Psychology

Dr. Xiaomeng (Mona) Xu 徐 晓 梦 was born in Fuling, China and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 5. She grew up in New York City and received a B.A. in Psychology from New York University (on Lenape land), an M.A. in Psychology from Stony Brook University (on Setauket land), and a Ph.D. in Social Health Psychology from Stony Brook University. They completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship sponsored by the National Institutes of Health at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and The Miriam Hospital (on Narragansett and Wampanoag land).

Dr. Xu joined Idaho State University (on Shoshone-Bannock land) in 2013 and is a Professor in the Department of Psychology. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses and mentors students through the Teaching, Health, and Optimal Relationships Laboratory. Dr. Xu’s service, teaching, and research have been recognized by awards and honors from numerous sources including the College of Arts and Letters, ISU’s TRIO Ronald E. McNair Program, ISU’s Psychology Graduate Students Association, ISU, the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (Division 2 of the American Psychological Association), the Mountain West Clinical Translational Research-Infrastructure Network, the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi, Psi Chi, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Medical Sciences, Imperial College London.