College of Letters and Sciences – New Faculty Department of Biology
Department of English
John Hanson, Temporary Lecturer of Biology Dr. Hanson earned a B.S. in Biology and a B.S. in Environmental Science from Abilene Christian University. He earned an M.S. (‘03) in Biology at Angelo State University where he studied behavioral ecology in woodpeckers, and a Ph.D. (‘08) with a focus on Zoology at Texas Tech University. After teaching at Texas Tech for 2½ years, he worked at a genomics laboratory, which he went on to direct, and he is board certified as a High Complexity Laboratory Director. He joined the Biology Department in January 2017 and teaches Mammalogy and Principles of Biology.
Rebecca Gerdes-McClain, Assistant Professor of English and Director of First-Year Composition Dr. Gerdes-McClain earned her B.A. and M.A. in English from Indiana University South Bend. In spring 2017, she earned her Ph.D. in Composition, Rhetoric, and Literacy from the University of Oklahoma where, in addition to research on the history of labor in First-Year Composition, she served for two years as Assistant Director of OU’s First-Year Composition program. She has taught various composition courses (Expository Writing, Technical Writing, Teaching Composition, etc.) as well as courses on Genre Studies and Film Adaptation. At CSU, she will serve as the FirstYear Composition director where she will teach various writing courses as well as administer, assess, and develop the First-Year Composition program.
Department of Chemistry Jaimie M. Gonzalez, Lecturer/Stockroom Manager Ms. Gonzalez earned both of her degrees from CSU – a B.A. in Chemistry (’09) and a M.Ed. in Teacher Education (’12). She taught biology, chemistry, and physical science at Northside High School. For the past four years, she has also taught introductory lecture and laboratory classes part-time in CSU’s Department of Chemistry. Ms. Gonzalez serves as a Lecturer/Stockroom Manager; she teaches some introductory lecture and laboratory courses, maintains chemical inventory, prepares reagents for lab classes, manages chemical waste, and oversees undergraduate lab assistants.
Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology Vy Thuc Dao, Assistant Professor of Sociology Dr. Thuc Dao earned her Ph.D. in Sociology at Tulane University in New Orleans with a primary emphasis on qualitative methods, theory, and inquiry. She also completed her M.A. at the University of Houston and, prior to her appointment at CSU, served as a visiting assistant professor at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA. Her most recent publications draw on her research in the Gulf South involving a multi-year, multi-site, ethnographic study that looks at the post-disaster recovery patterns of three Vietnamese American communities in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Her current research interest involves protest culture and its intersection with race and gender.
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Clayton O’Dell, Temporary Lecturer of English Mr. Clayton O’Dell earned both his B.A. and M.A. in English and Secondary Education at CSU. He has been teaching first-year composition at CSU since 2016. As an undergraduate, Mr. O’Dell studied abroad for two consecutive summers with the CSU in Mexico program. Because of his passion for study abroad, he added a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages endorsement as part of his M.A. Other areas of interest include minority, gender, and international studies, particularly related to literature and modern fiction. Natalia Naman Temesgen, Assistant Professor of Creative Writing Mrs. Temesgen earned her B.A. in English from Princeton University (’08), and her M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University (‘10). She has a passion for writing stories (plays, screenplays, and teleplays/webseries) that present seemingly stereotypical individuals or scenarios, then exploding and expanding the narrow understanding that the audience may have previously held. Her plays have been produced in New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, and Columbus, Georgia. Since 2013, Mrs. Temesgen has taught in different positions in the English and Theatre departments at CSU.
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