Introducing professors Cassandra Dame-Griff and Allison Butterfield

Winona State University’s first ethnic studies professor began her position this semester, after the new ethnic studies minor started last fall.

Professor of ethnic studies Cassandra Dame-Griff moved to Winona with her husband, Avery Dame, and their infant daughter in June from southwest Florida.

Dame is also a new professor at Winona State this semester in the mass communications department.

Dame-Griff earned her PhD from the Department of American Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. She worked as the Graduate Coordinator for the Latina/o Studies Program on campus.

In her free time she loves thrifting, and said she can usually be found at Goodwill. Dame-Griff also loves the farmer’s market and walking around the lakes.

Dame-Griff said she is excited to see where the new minor will be moving and how it will develop.

“I am excited for the program and to help shape it,” Dame-Griff said. “Ethnic studies exists all over the country, but it doesn’t have a strong presence in the Midwest yet.”

Dame-Griff was surprised at how many lakes were in the state, especially when Professor Fred Lee drove her to campus for her interview early 2017. She spent the summer settling into town with her family and learning the area.

“I will remember this year very fondly,” she said. “The students here have so much desire to know things and engage with the topic of ethnicity, identity and race. It excites me when they want to think and talk about it, they give me so much energy when I am feeling stressed about these topics.”

Also residing in Minné Hall is new sociology and criminal justice professor Allison Butterfield.

Butterfield wasn’t actively looking for a professor position, but said she knew in the future she wanted to do so.

Butterfield was at a conference listening to a panel on interviewing for college jobs. Afterwards, she met Winona State criminal justice professors Mark Norman and Michelle Keller.

Norman and Keller asked Butterfield if she was interested in a job at Winona State. She applied, was flown out for an interview, and fell in love with the school. She was hired shortly after.

“During my phone interview they asked me if I was a Packers fan or a Vikings fan,” Butterfield laughed. “I said I like a team that wins. I am a Patriots fan, born and raised in New England. They hired me anyway, and now I am decorating my office with as much Patriots stuff I can put up.”

Butterfield left her family—including her spouse, dog and cats—in New England to come to Winona State as an adjunct full-time professor.

“I love to be around the people here. It’s true,” Butterfield said. “This is a really nice school, and I didn’t anticipate that I would fall in love with it.”

Butterfield teaches corrections courses, specifically Crime and Justice in America and Offender Assessment and Management.

“I love my students, they are awesome,” Butterfield said. “I tend to be a silly professor, a jokester. They do that to me too, which is great.”

Butterfield is currently working on her dissertation for her PhD in Criminology at University of Massachusetts at Lowell. She has seven years of experience as a Juvenile Probation Officer in Oregon, and helped create legislature to amend Oregon law regarding juvenile drunk drivers.

Butterfield has also worked in addictions and mental health as a licensed social worker and a state certified treatment specialist.

Butterfield has a busy year ahead of her. She works 12-hour days and lives in La Crosse with her two guinea pigs she adopted from the Humane Society upon moving here.

“I know it may sound cheesy, but I look forward to getting up and coming here,” Butterfield said. “I want to continue to foster my relationships with people here, and learning and honing my skills.”