Staff Directory

Becky Balestrieri - eLearning Coordinator

As the eLearning Coordinator, Becky assists faculty members with any of their eLearning needs which include providing instructional design and technical support, implementing faculty and staff training programs, transitioning the College from WebVista to Moodle, and managing the lecture capture system for the DVM program. Becky earned a B.A. in Design and Educational Psychology from the University of Minnesota and is currently pursuing a Master of Education in Learning Technologies with an emphasis in Online Distance Learning from the University of Minnesota. She has two strong-willed and territorial cats name Lizzie and Sophie and spends her free time reading, travelling, being on the water, and visiting family and friends in Wisconsin.

Email: bale0028@umn.edu

Mary Beth Iverson - Registrar

As Registrar for the DVM program, Mary Beth maintains course schedules and registration records for students. In addition, she coordinates the submission of syllabi into Curriculum Map, is a Disability Services liason, works with the Honor Case Commission, the Committee on Curriculum and Educational Policy (CCEP), and offshore student orientation. Mary Beth has a B.A. in Psychology from the College of St. Catherine. Prior to arriving to the University of Minnesota, she worked as a fundraising consultant and as the Associate Director of Graduate Admission at the College of St. Catherine. Three busy kids keep her schedule more than full!

Email: miverson@umn.edu

Lynne Lura - Coordinator, Externships and External Students

Lynne has been Coordinator with the DVM program for thirty years! As Coordinator, Lynne is responsible for clinical rotation scheduling and maintaining the list of externship sites, including soliciting new sites and obtaining grades from the current sites. She is often found advising students on their clinical rotation schedules and externships, or assisting them with obtaining nametags or UCard access to the buildings. Lynne also works with the finances for the Academic and Student Affairs department, coordinates with external visitors to the college, and is the liaison between the University and other colleges of veterinary medicine, amongst a wide variety of special projects.

Email: l-lura@umn.edu

Joe Maple - Director of Academic Affairs

Serving as Director of Academic Affairs, Joe Maple is involved with student academic advising and helps to create, maintain, and update college policies. He is a liaison with Disability Services, Financial Aid, University Counseling and Consulting Services, and other University offices. As well as overseeing Registrar functions for the College, he works with faculty on creation and maintenance of the clinical and didactic teaching schedules. He is a member of the colleges Health and Safety Committee as well as an ex-officio member of the Committee on Curriculum and Educational Policy and the Student Promotions Committee. Prior to moving to Minneapolis, Joe lived in San Francisco for nine years and spent seven of those with San Francisco State University, working in the College of Extended Learning. Joe and his wife have two sons, aged nineteen and six, a nine-year old Boston Terrier named Olive and four hens: Large Marge, Pipsy, Big Bird & Lucy. In his spare time, Joe enjoys reading, repairing and riding vintage motorcycles, cheering for OSU Buckeyes football, seeing live music and theater, and fixing up his 1920's bungalow.

Email: jmaple@umn.edu

Laura Molgaard, DVM - Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs

Dr. Molgaard oversees the DVM educational program. She received her DVM from Iowa State University in 1991, joined the College of Veterinary Medicine in 1997, and has worked in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs since 2001. Prior to joining the University , she was in small animal private practice and taught at a veterinary technician program. Her teaching interests at the College include professional and clinical skills. She currently teaches in the Gopher Orientation and Leadership Experience (GOALE) and Professional Development II: Clinical Communications. Her research interests include admissions and outcomes assessment. Dr. Molgaard welcomes any opportunity to advise students on academic and personal issues. In her spare time, she keeps busy with her family, including a cockapoo named Ben.

Email: molga001@umn.edu

Karen Nelson - Director of Admissions

As Director of Admissions, Karen is often found advising prospective students on the DVM program, prerequisite courses, and the application process, or recruiting prospective students at regional colleges, universities, and educational fairs. She oversees application processing and admissions interview scheduling, as well as the admissions process for VetFAST, VetLEAD, and general transfer students. She is also involved with scholarships and the Gopher Orientation Leadership Experience (GOALE). Karen has worked in higher education for 8 years, 6 of which have been here at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Her educational background includes a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of Minnesota Duluth and an M. A. in Organizational Leadership from Bethel University. Karen professes to have way too many hobbies, but enjoys reading, traveling, hiking, gardening, golfing, alpine skiing, waterskiing, and wakeboarding. She enjoys spending time with her family, which includes a "Mala-mut" (Malmute/Golden Retriever) named Bridger and a mischievous Siberian Husky named Loki.

Email: kanelson@umn.edu

Amy Pavelka - Admission Coordinator

Amy's role as Admission Coordinator for the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program takes her in many directions. At any time, she may be advising and recruiting prospective applicants, processing applications, or updating websites. Amy also has an academic-related role which allows her to work with course evaluations and didactic and rotation grading. She earned a B.S. in Marketing and Management from Northern State University and an M.A. in Organizational Leadership through Bethel University. Amy has two household friends- Charlie, an a grumpy male tabby and Cosmo Skankarello, a crazy, silly, half siamese-calico kitten. In her free time she enjoys fishing, relaxing, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

Email: ababcock@umn.edu   

Deb Wingert - Director of Educational Development

Dr. Wingert serves as the Director of Educational Development at the College of Veterinary Medicine, facilitating several initiatives in teaching and learning including the Program for the Advancement of Classroom Excellence (PACE), CVM's peer assisted coaching program (VetPAC), the CVM Teaching Academy, Seminars on Teaching, and the faculty peer review process. In addition to teaching in higher education for more than 25 years, she also serves as the Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) Co-Coordinator for UMN graduate students, and Early Career Coordinator for UMN Early Career faculty at the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). She teaches several courses to doctoral students in preparation for their academic career as a professor, and helps faculty/instructors enhance their teaching excellence at a major research university. Deb develops and facilitates workshops, retreats, presentations, and courses for both on-campus departments and educators in various higher educational institutions nationwide. She thoroughly enjoys ongoing family adventures, well-seasoned with good friends, writing, and reading as often as possible!

Email: winge007@umn.edu