Interim Director of Graduate Studies
Tom Borrup
Tom Borrup is the principal and consultant with Creative Community Builders in Minneapolis, and works with cities, foundations, and nonprofits across the US on leveraging cultural and creative assets for community revitalization and change. He served as executive director of Intermedia Arts from 1980 to 2002. His doctoral research and dissertation addressed the role of organizational and social networks in the planning and ongoing management of cultural districts. He holds a PhD in Leadership and Change from Antioch University.
Faculty
Maurice Harris
Maurice Harris is the Research Manager for Transwestern Real Estate's Minneapolis office. At Transwestern he conducts research supporting the efforts of the team on a range of real estate, demographic, and related research topics. Prior to Transwestern Maurice was the research manager at GREATER MSP Partnership, where his roles included conducting research to support economic development and market research efforts for the recruitment, retention, and attraction of businesses to the region. He is also responsible for the development and maintenance of intelligence directly related to supporting regional economic development efforts. Originally from St. Louis, MO, he obtained his master’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in Public Affairs, specializing in public policy analysis and regional development, and his bachelor’s degree from Knox College majoring in political science and history.
Jeannine Kessler
MBA with a finance focus from University of St. Thomas; BA, organizational management and communication, Concordia University
Ms. Kessler provides leadership for applied business undergraduate courses, which support the College's undergraduate majors and serve students from across the campus and the wider community. She also manages faculty recruitment and curriculum development for new graduate-level applied business courses. Recently she served as assistant provost at Hamline University. Prior to that, she was a faculty member and associate dean of the College of Business and Organizational Leadership at Concordia University. She has led programs and operations in corporate and academic environments in the areas of finance, human resources, and long-range planning and project management. She is currently working on a DBA in human resources.
- ABUS 3051 – Career Search for the Professional Environment
Carol Rinkoff
Dr. Rinkoff has been teaching in and administering higher education since 2005. She is most interested in systems thinking and information fluency, which have in common asking good questions, critical thinking, and collecting information and turning it into applied knowledge and wisdom. Carol has previously served higher education institutions in Minnesota, California, and Maryland as the director of undergraduate and graduate business programs, dean of academic affairs, dean of a satellite campus, and vice president of academic affairs. She has coauthored a book on how managers can use social media in business, and teaches a graduate course in CCAPS, CIVE/ASCL 6314 – Leading Projects and Teams.
- CIVE/ASCL 6314 – Leading Projects and Teams
- ABUS 3950 – Special Topics
Brian Simons
MBA, supply chain and operations focus, Arizona State University; BS, international finance, Arizona State University; BA, history, Arizona State University; BA, political science, Arizona State University; BA, religious studies, Arizona State University.
Brian Simons has been an adjunct instructor since 2018 focusing on management and finance topics. In addition to teaching, he currently serves as the CEO of Janus Logistics Technologies, a VC back technology firm in the supply chain and logistics space. Previously he held leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies including Honeywell, United Technologies, and NCR as well as private equity owned firms.
Avi Viswanathan
JD, Suffolk University
Avi Viswanathan serves as Program Director for the Nexus Community Engagement Institute (CEI). Avi has years of professional experience working in nonprofits, the public sector, and philanthropy. Prior to joining Nexus, he was a Ron McKinley Philanthropy Fellow with the Bush Foundation. He has also held the positions of campaign director for HIRE Minnesota and field representative for US Senator Al Franken. Avi currently sits on the board of the Headwaters Foundation for Justice and previously sat on the board of NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota and the Dayton’s Bluff Community Council. Avi holds a JD from Suffolk University, a BS from Georgia Tech, and a certificate in Decision Analysis from the London School of Economics.
Advisor
Margo Gray
Margo has over a decade of experience in the nonprofit and arts communities and believes in building relationships between disciplines and demographics to create more equitable opportunities for learning and advancement. She has served as Director of Member Services at Donors Forum, where she led professional development programming and networking for grant makers. She is the founder of Playable Artworks, a sponsored project of Springboard for the Arts, chaired the Gender Equity Committee at the Chicago Storefront Summit, and has developed equity and sensitivity procedures. Margo holds a BA from Grinnell College and an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University, and she was a Fulbright Fellow at the Moscow Art Theatre School.
Margo advises for the MPS in Arts and Cultural Leadership, MPS in Civic Engagement, MPS in Sexual Health, Sex Therapy Certificate, and Transgender and Gender Diverse Health Certificate.