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Trinity College and Graduate School Announce Faculty Promotions

July 26, 2020
Trinity College and Graduate School congratulate Drs. Kristin Lindholm Gumminger, Dori Karlesky and Susan Corapi on their promotion in rank. Dr. Corapi was also awarded tenure.   Kristin Lindholm, who has taught at Trinity since 1997, has been promoted to the rank of Professor. Students describe her as an effective instructor whose assignments were meaningful and never “felt like busy work.” Other students describe her as “passionate about the subject, personable, and approachable.” As a scholar, Dr. Lindholm is active in groups for the professional discipline of communication; in recent years, she has also served as a panel moderator and respondent. Lindholm has served on a number of university committees and task forces, most recently leading a task force appointed by President Nicholas Perrin that developed a redesigned general education and focus for the College. This task was especially challenging due to the short timeline for completion and, under her capable leadership, the faculty approved the redesign over the summer for implementation with the 21/22 catalog. Dr. Lindholm serves as Director of the Division of Social Science, chair of the communication department, and was recently elected chair of the College Academic Council of Divisions.   A faculty member since 1989, Dori Karlesky has a PhD in analytical chemistry and has been promoted to the rank of Professor. Students speak of "Dr. K" (as they lovingly call her) as a caring professor who wants them to learn. “She will go above and beyond so that you learn,” one said. They also note that her prayers and care for students “made the difference” for them. Professor Karlesky encourages student research. One former student, now a practicing physician who studied at the Mayo Medical School, remembers that she encouraged him to apply for summer undergraduate research, which led to competitive research internships at the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic. Her scholarship has included a focus on bringing science to others by developing educational materials for a hands-on chemistry lab experience for fifth grade students (sponsored by the American Chemical Society) and by offering “Homeschool Connections” for a number of years that brought chemistry laboratory experience to home schooled students. Her institutional service includes chairing the college faculty senate for 14 years as well as additional committee service.   Associate Professor of Education Dr. Susan Corapi is the most recent addition to Trinity’s faculty of these three, coming to TIU in 2015. In addition to being promoted to the rank of Associate Professor, she has earned tenure. Focused on her principal area of literacy, she teaches education courses in both Trinity College and Trinity Graduate School. One student said, “Her passion for her subject and depth of knowledge are unmatched in anyone I have come across. I am well prepared for my current position and I know it is because of Dr. Corapi.” Her scholarly work focuses on global and multicultural literature, and she is the co-author of Bridges to Understanding: Envisioning the World through Story (2016). More recently, she collaborated on a chapter for Critical Content Analysis of Visual Images in Books for Young People (2019). As an advisor, Dr. Corapi has the goal of eating lunch with each of her advisees at least once a year and sending them birthday cards and encouraging emails. She serves as the Title IX confidential advisor for the University, in addition to other committee assignments.   In his letter to each of the faculty members, President Perrin wrote, “Though these are challenging times for higher education . . . I am convinced that our future remains bright so long as we can continue to build on the outstanding contribution—both inside and outside the classroom—of professors like you.”