CUSE Staff

	Deb Rotman, Director Dr. Rotman became the Director of CUSE in August 2011. She joined the Notre Dame faculty in 2006 as Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Anthropology. Her research involves the historical and archaeological investigation of a nineteenth-century Irish immigrant enclave on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan. Each year, she takes students with her to Ireland to assist with archival research and oral history collection, both for her own research as well as their senior theses and other individual projects. Her undergraduate degree was earned from Grand Valley State University (1993). She completed her Master's at Western Michigan University (1995) and her Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (2001). In 2011, Dr. Rotman was awarded the prestigious Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C. Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. Established in 2007, the Joyce Award annually recognizes faculty members who have a profound influence on undergraduate students through sustained exemplary teaching. Professor Rotman teaches in the Department of Anthropology. Her courses are frequently cross-listed with Irish Studies and Gender Studies. View Dr. Rotman's curriculum vita here.
	Darlene Hampton, Assistant Director for Undergraduate Research Dr. Hampton became the Assistant Director of CUSE in September of 2012. In addition to her work mentoring and advising Notre Dame students involved in undergraduate research, she is now teaching a course in the Film, Television, and Theater Department. Her research focuses on the ways that many fans use media objects, such as cult television shows and video games,in ways that perform negotiations of gender norms in online fan communities. As an undergraduate, she studied Theater Arts at Brigham Young University in both Idaho and Utah and ultimately earned her Ph.D. in English Literature and Film from the University of Oregon(2010).
	Christen Klute, Programming Advisor Christen became a part of the CUSE team in November of 2011 as the Administrative Assistant. She took the position of Programming Advisor in February of 2012. She advises the CUSE-sponsored student groups such as The Hub and the Sorin Scholars, along with keeping up with all of the department's digital media. Christen earned her BA at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI.
	Tracy Zielke, Administrative Assistant Tracy joined the CUSE team in April of 2012 after having worked in another on-campus department since 2008. She manages the CUSE office, processes student research reimbursements, and provides administrative support to Dr. Rotman and Dr. Hampton. A native of Michigan, Tracy earned her BA at Siena Heights University and her AA at Lake Michigan College.
	Angelique Thomas, Office Assistant Angelique became part of the CUSE team in September 2012 as the Office Assistant. She helps manage the office, process funding applications, market CUSE, and provides administrative support to Dr. Rotman, Dr. Hampton, Roberta Jordan, and Christen Klute. Angelique earned her BA in Sociology at the University of Notre Dame.
	Dawn Hopkins, Graduate Research Fellow Dawn Hopkins recently joined the CUSE team in January 2013 as Graduate Research Fellow working with students in the Colleges of Science, Engineering, and Business. Her dissertation research examines the genetic factors that control hematopoietic progenitor fate in the Drosophila model system. During her time at the University of Notre Dame, she has been a graduate teaching assistant for both Cell Biology and Physiology Laboratories. She has also been engaged in many Kaneb Center programs to hone her pedagogical and mentoring practices. Dawn’s undergraduate degree was earned from the University of Dayton (2000) and her Master of Science was completed at Oregon State University (2003). She hopes to complete her doctorate during this calendar year, and pursue a career in science education incorporating research and inquiry-based learning.
	Caroline Wilky, Graduate Research Fellow Caroline Wilky joined CUSE as a Graduate Research Fellow in January 2013. She mentors undergraduate researchers in the College of Arts & Letters and the School of Architecture, leads workshops for undergraduates on beginning, funding, and disseminating original research, and helps CUSE develop initiatives to support undergraduate research. A Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at Notre Dame, Caroline’s research explores conceptions of nature in medieval historical thought. Her dissertation examines thirteenth-century chroniclers who, by incorporating plants, animals, and stones into accounts of human history, imagined history writing as a textual imitation of God’s own act of creation. Prior to coming to Notre Dame, she earned a B.A. in History at the University of Texas at Austin where she completed an honors thesis on the reception of Augustine’s Confessions in the Middle Ages.