Faculty Profile
Dedra Tentis
Instructor
Educational Background
- Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology (major in Research Methods and Social Deviance and Minored in Child & Family Studies), South Dakota State University
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice, St. Cloud State University
- Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice, St. Cloud State University
Professional Experience
Tentis currently teaches full-time in the criminal justice program at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. She works closely with the program coordinator, making curriculum and program changes, advising undergraduate students, and serving on various campus committees. Tentis held a fixed-term faculty position at Winona State University in Minnesota from 1998-2000. Besides teaching, she worked part-time with juvenile sex offenders from 2001-2002 as a Youth Care Worker for Hillcrest Family Services in Dubuque. She also worked for three years as an Evaluation Specialist for a Children, Youth and Families At-Risk (CYFAR) grant directed by the South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service.
Tentis is a member of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, the Midwest Criminal Justice Association, the National Guard Association of the United States, and the National Guard Association of Minnesota.
After serving on active duty in the United States Air Force following high school, Tentis joined the Minnesota Air National Guard in St. Paul in order to continue her criminal justice studies. She was commissioned by the Academy of Military Science in 1996, and today she continues to serve as Inspector General with the Minnesota Air National Guard.
Some of her publications include "A Guard Member's Perspective of IG Complaints in a War Zone" and "Generational differences: anticipating and shaping future leaders," both in the TIG Brief: USAF Inspector General. She has also presented at the Midwest Criminal Justice Association, Loras College Diversity Conference, and the New Commanders' Orientation Conference, among others.