Faculty & Staff
Genuine. Supportive. Ready to open doors. You get all that and more as you interact with the Learning, Leadership and Community (LCC) faculty and staff.
LLC faculty and staff lead by example—through service, scholarship, and mentorship. You’ll find them volunteering alongside students, connecting you with professional peers, contributing to national and international conversations in their fields. Their expertise spans topical areas as:
- Student behavior and mental health
- Economic impact of tourism
- Service learning and leadership
- Standards-based grading
- Playground safety
- Cross-cultural recreational therapy
- Forgiveness and educational resilience
Whatever your path in the numerous fields offered by LCC, you’ll find LLC faculty ready to help you grow—academically, professionally, and personally.
A Multitude of Passions
Rod Dieser believes greatly in the combination of recreation engagement and mental health. He's studied it, written about it and shares what he's learned in his recreation, tourism and nonprofit leadership classes at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Another passion of his? Heritage tourism. And, he's a working therapist.
Amidst all that activity, he fully enjoys engaging with students as a UNI professor, especially with first generation students. The holder of dual citizenship--Canada and the U.S.--was a first generation university student himself.
Making an Impact
Tim Gilson had a solid career as a teacher, coach and leader. Looking to make a larger impact, he earned his doctorate. “Things worked out very well! I now get to use my background and experience as principal and help train and mentor aspiring administrators.”
Teaching & Serving
Like many, Chris Kowalski didn't take a straight path to his current role. A career that started in criminology and a position with the FBI shifted to a role with AmeriCorps working with youth in an education program in Idaho.
Years later, he's actively teaching, researching and serving undergraduate and graduate students to prepare them so they, too, can positively impact the lives of children and youth through their work.
Keeping a Student Connection
“I attempt to do everything that I do for our students to make sure that they have a great experience while they are here and that they are set up for success after they graduate.”
After more than 20 years in housing and residence life, David “Schmiddy” found another path to maintain his passion for working with students. He now leads the postsecondary education: student affairs program.