Faculty and Staff
Program Coordinator
David Stark
Professor
Ph.D., Indiana University
History Department
Coordinator, Latin American and Latino/a Studies
Areas of Interest: Colonial Latin America, Caribbean, Slavery
(616) 331-3174
D-1-216 Mackinac Hall
starkd@gvsu.edu
Faculty
Andrew Schlewitz
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., The New School for Social Research
Area and Global Studies
Political Science Department
Areas of Interest: Latin American and Latino/a Studies, Latin American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations
(616) 331-8258
103 Lake Ontario Hall
schlewia@gvsu.edu
Affiliate Faculty
David Alvarez
Professor
Ph.D., University of Texas
English Department
Areas of Interest: Contemporary cross-Mediterranean migrations in literature, photography, and film, Contemporary South African literature in English, Colonialism and Postcoloniality in Gibraltar
(616) 331-3581
272 Lake Huron Hall
alvarezd@gvsu.edu
Mayra Fortes González
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
Modern Languages and Literatures
(616) 331-3804
D-2-118 Mackinac Hall
fortesm@gvsu.edu
Michael Huner
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Cape Hill
History Department
Areas of Interest: Modern Latin America, World History, 19th and 20th century, State Formation
(616) 331-3420
D-1-136 Mackinac Hall
hunerm@gvsu.edu
Paola (Mirta) Leon
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department of Social Work
Areas of Interest: Community mental health, Qualitative research, Violence against women, Service learning
(616) 331-6561
357-C Richard M. DeVos Center
leonm@gvsu.edu
Dennis Malaret
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Western Michigan University
Sociology Department
Areas of Interest: Race and Ethnicity, Youth
(616) 331-3113
2152 Au Sable Hall
malaretd@gvsu.edu
Zulema Moret
Professor
Ph.D., Basque Country University
Modern Languages and Literatures
(616) 331-2286
B-2-242 Mackinac Hall
moretz@gvsu.edu
Jim Penn
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of Florida
Department of Geography and Sustainable Planning
Areas of Interest: Latin America, Amazonia, Non-timber Forest Resources, Tropical Agriculture, Natural Resource Use, Protected Areas, Demographic Change, Globalization and Development
(616) 331-8522
1155 Au Sable Hall
pennji@gvsu.edu
Toni Perrine
Professor
Ph.D., Northwestern University
Film and Video Production
(616) 331-3795
218 Lake Superior Hall
perrinet@gvsu.edu
Russell Rhoads
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of Kentucky
Anthropology Department
Areas of Interest: Applied and Development Anthropology, Food and Agriculture, Dislocation and Resettlement, Qualitative and Ethnographic Methods
(616) 331-3018
1162 Au Sable Hall
rhoadsr@gvsu.edu
Nora Salas
Assistant Professor
Ph.D.
History Department
(616) 331-3134
D-1-126 Mackinac Hall
salasn@gvsu.edu
Médar Serrata
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin
Modern Languages and Literatures
(616) 331-3459
D-2-114 Mackinac Hall
serratam@gvsu.edu
Joel Stillerman
Professor
Ph.D., The New School for Social Research
Sociology Department
Areas of Interest: Urban Sociology, Consumer Culture, Labor and Labor Movements, Inequalities, Latin America
(616) 331-3129
2166 Au Sable Hall
stillejo@gvsu.edu
Christian Trefftz
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Michigan State University
School of Computing & Information Systems
(616) 331-3646
C-2-110 Mackinac Hall
trefftz@gvsu.edu
Melba Vélez Ortiz
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
School of Communications
(616) 331-8183
107 Lake Michigan Hall
velortme@gvsu.edu
Christopher Shaffer
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis
Sociology Department
Areas of Interest: Biological Anthropology, Conservation Ecology, Ecological Anthropology, and variation in Material Hunting Technology
(616) 331-8210
226 Lake Michigan Hall
shafferc@gvsu.edu
Michael Vrooman
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Modern Languages and Literatures
(616) 331-8566
B-2-230 Mackinac Hall
vroomanm@gvsu.edu
Keith Watts
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of New Mexico
Modern Languages and Literatures
(616) 331-3168
B-2-257 Mackinac Hall
wattsk@gvsu.edu
John Weber
Professor
Ph.D., Northwestern University
Geology Department
(616) 331-3191
213 Padnos Hall of Science
weberj@gvsu.edu
Michael Wroblewski
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Arizona
Anthropology Department
(616) 331-2325
230 Lake Michigan Hall
wroblewm@gvsu.edu
Lourdes (Huei Lan) Yen
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Oklahoma
Modern Languages and Literatures
(616) 331-8937
D-2-106 Mackinac Hall
yenh@gvsu.edu
Raul Ysasi
Affiliate Faculty
Ed.D., Wayne State University
College of Education
(616) 331-3343
352-C Richard M. DeVos Center
ysasir@gvsu.edu