Meet Our Faculty

Comparative Religions

Jessica Sitek has witnessed Christian preparations for Easter in Spain, spoke with survivors of the Kurdish genocide during a five-month stay in Iraq, conducted a field study of how Islam interacts with other religions in Malaysia and observed Hinduism first-hand in India. But while uniquely qualified to teach Macomb’s existing courses in comparative religions, the third-year instructor is currently developing a new one that explores the connection between food and religion.

“Food as storytelling is something that greatly interests me,” says Sitek, who grew up in Macomb by way of Hamtramck, where her grandparents first settled after emigrating from Poland. “I really enjoy producing my own sauerkraut and collecting the family’s honey harvest.”

In developing the new course, Sitek enlisted her students in the creation of a recent library exhibit: Food and Religion: The Ethical and Spiritual Dimension of Eating. It was also part of her focus while a member of the first class of the KAICIID International Fellows Programme, an intergovernmental peacebuilding organization sponsored by the Republic of Austria, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Spain and the Holy See.

“My first challenge,” she says, “was confronting my place of privilege.”

Sitek holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Philosophy from Central Michigan University and a Master’s Degree in Religious Studies from Temple University in Philadelphia. With a recommendation from Philadelphia’s Dialogue Institute, where she worked, Sitek was selected to join 20 educators from 16 countries for the year-long KAICIID program. There were visits to the organization’s headquarters in Vienna and to several other countries, all designed, says Sitek, “to put a face on theology.”

In addition to sharing insight gained from the prestigious fellowship, field trips are also an important part of Sitek’s courses, including those to the Detroit Zen Center, Temple Beth El and Islamic Center in Dearborn. The trips are not mandatory, but many of her students choose to take part anyway.

“My students are all very respectful and inquisitive,” says Sitek. “They really appreciate learning about other cultures.”

Apprentice Coordinator

Vikki Gordon, Ed.D., brings to her job as Macomb’s skilled trades apprentice coordinator and tool design instructor a level of experience unmatched in a field that still employs few women.

“My dad was a concept illustrator for GM,” explains Gordon. “He is the one who encouraged me to take a job with Modern Engineering in the Tech Center in Flint where he worked.”

At Modern, Gordon picked up CATIA CAD software quickly and advanced to laying out assembly line tooling. From there, she became a tool designer and manufacturing project coordinator, working at various manufacturing firms for 10 years. When the recession hit, she sought out another career tract, earning degrees in business administration from Baker College, where she also worked as a liaison with manufacturing facilities.

“I was bringing Baker’s educational programs into the plants,” relates Gordon, who joined Macomb’s team as the designated academic advisor for the technology area in 2010. “I love manufacturing and I love education, so it was a perfect fit.”

Macomb’s apprentice coordinator for the past three years, Gordon oversees apprenticeships for about 75 companies. The apprentice program at one of those companies, Futuramic Tool and Engineering, was touted as exemplary by Hilary Clinton, the former democratic presidential candidate, when she brought her campaign there last summer.

“Apprenticeships are good for the company, the economy and the individual,” says Gordon. “I love encouraging students to take advantage of what is a great opportunity.”

Gordon also teaches Technical Report Writing and Die Theory One, a course she helped develop, and received a teaching excellence award from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development in 2016.

“I have all these aspiring vehicle designers and, yes, I tell them, the car is beautiful,” says Gordon, pointing to her dad’s sketch of a’63 Corvette that hangs in her office. “But I try to show them the way I learned it. I do my best to open their eyes to the field of tool design.”