Biosketches of invited speakers, Institute facilitators, and ... - SENCER

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SSI 2010 PLENARY SPEAKERS, CORE FACULTY,
SESSION PRESENTERS, INSTITUTE ORGANIZERS, AND STAFF
Erin Argyilan is an assistant professor of geosciences at Indiana University Northwest. She also serves
as coordinator for the GLISTEN-Gary Cluster, organizing two and four-year colleges and universities,
community-based organizations, and informal science education venues around issues affecting Lake
Michigan. At SSI 2010, Erin will co-present the concurrent session “Promoting SENCER-Based
Approaches to Great Lakes Restoration.”
Additional biographical information was unavailable at the time of publication.
Steven Bachofer is a professor of chemistry at Saint Mary's College of California. He received his
bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of the Pacific and his doctoral degree in inorganic
chemistry from Brown University. Steven worked as a research chemist in the consumer products
industry before he began teaching. Building on that experience, he studies the changes in cationic
surfactant aggregate morphology with added organic counterions as a research area that he shares with
undergraduates. Steven regularly teaches an environmental chemistry course in which he has incorporated
civic engagement lab experiences, using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF). In 2004, Steve was
awarded a Dreyfus Foundation Special Grant to purchase a field portable XRF to continue this
educational work. In 2008, Steve had an XRF soil sampling lab published in the Journal of Chemical
Education (2008, 85(7), 980-982). Steve developed a new general science education course with a focus
on environmental issues. This course, Urban Environmental Issues, was taught as a part of the learning
community with Phylis Martinelli (sociology) where the redevelopment of a Superfund site, Alameda
Point, was the focus. The learning community, RETUrN – Renewable Environment: Transforming Urban
Neighborhoods, became a SENCER model in 2005.
At SSI 2010, Steven will co-present a concurrent session on “Field Reports: Sources of Lead and Our
Attempts to Minimize It and Survey of Developmental Defects and Pollutants in Local Amphibian
Populations in Ohio Waterways.” He will also co-facilitate the work session “Designing a SENCER
Course” and be a panelist on “Planning Next Steps and Accessing Resources.”
William E. Bennett is a senior scholar with the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement. Prior
to retirement, Bill served as senior science advisor to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. Recently, he chaired the Education and Credentials Committee of the US Congressional
Black Caucus Taskforce on the US/Cuban Medical Scholarship Initiative, co-chaired its site visit to Cuba
and authored the taskforce’s report on Cuban Medical Education. Currently, he sits on boards for projects
funded by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. During a
long and distinguished career, he has held appointments as medical school faculty, bench scientist and
scientist administrator in the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. Bill has published, lectured and consulted in the areas of cellular immunology, cell
differentiation, medical education, and disease prevention. He has been honored by numerous national
and international organizations, medical colleges, and federal agencies. Bill has been the first recipient of
two awards established in his honor, the Annual William E. Bennett Award at the Morehouse School of
Medicine (2000), and the William E. Bennett Award for Extraordinary Contributions to Citizen Science
from the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement (established in 2009). Bill received his PhD
from the University of Pennsylvania and was a postdoctoral fellow at Rockefeller University. He also
holds three honorary doctorates.
At SSI 2010, Bill will speak during the closing remarks and preside over the session featuring Robert
Holm and Joseph Kirsch, two recipients of the NCSCE award established in honor of his career in 2009.
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Ted Biermann has been a chemistry professor and dean of the College of Science and Mathematics at
Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan since 2002. He received his bachelor’s of science degree from
the University of Bridgeport, and his PhD in organic chemistry from Purdue University (1970.) Ted is a
highly experienced leader in industrial R&D with extensive contributions in polymers, advanced
composites, and fiber industries. His most recent industrial position (1989-2001) was director, R&D, for
the polyurethanes business of BASF Corporation. Here he was responsible for total R&D and product
stewardship for the urethanes business in North America, including product, process, and overall
technology development for aromatic isocyanates, polyether polyols, and the associated polymer physics.
During the 1980’s, Ted was the R&D manager for BASF in Anaheim, CA, in their structural materials
business, involving advanced composite and adhesive materials used primarily in aerospace applications.
From 1970-1982, he worked for Celanese Corporation in the polyester and polyamide fiber business area
at various locations in both North and South Carolina, mostly in technical/R&D management positions.
Ted has been active in the American Chemical Society, and was chair of the Detroit section for 2003.
At SSI 2010, Ted will co-present a concurrent session on “Field Reports: Transforming Science
Education at Madonna University and SENCER in a First-Year Learning Community—Questions to Ask
Yourself.”
Mariah Birgen is an associate professor of mathematics and director of the Scholars Program at
Wartburg College. She has been strongly involved in creating active learning environments in college
mathematics courses for over ten years. She teaches multiple SENCER mathematics courses and leads
undergraduate research in the area of the mathematics of voting. Most recently, she took the lead in
creating a radically different calculus curriculum founded on the SENCER ideal that students should learn
mathematics through difficult questions for which they are intellectually engaged in seeking answers. By
addressing this question, the first calculus course offers students a deep understanding of mathematical
modeling to facilitate transference of their knowledge of calculus to courses within any major. Mariah has
been actively involved with SENCER since 2001 and, most recently, is promoting the SENCER approach
to the National Collegiate Honors Council community as part of their increasing emphasis on honors
education in science and mathematics.
At SSI 2010, Mariah will present the concurrent sessions “Field Report: SENCER Calculus—Really!”
and “Effective Teamwork: Communication, Collaborating, and Coaching.” She will also co-facilitate the
work sessions “Pedagogy and Assessment,” and “Planning Next Steps and Accessing Resources.”
David Burns is the founder and principal investigator of SENCER, the NSF-supported national
dissemination project. He is also executive director of the National Center for Science and Civic
Engagement and professor of general studies at the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. He
serves as principal investigator for the National Center’s Great Lakes Stewardship Through Education
Network (GLISTEN) project, which is supported by the Corporation for National and Community
Service. Prior to establishing the National Center, David served as senior policy director for the
Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). During his nine years with AAC&U, he
established the Center for Disease Control and Prevention-sponsored Program for Health and Higher
Education and created the Summer Symposia dedicated to exploring the power that students have to
improve the health of colleges and communities.
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He is the principal author and editor of Learning for Our Common Health and, among other publications,
the article, “Knowledge to Make Our Democracy.” Among his community activities he serves as a
member of the Franklin Township School Board and is a member of the Governor's Committee on
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (New Jersey). For 23 years, David was a member of the
administration of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. In 2008, the American Society for Cell
Biology honored David and SENCER co-founder Karen Kashmanian Oates with the Bruce Alberts
Award for Excellence in Science Education.
At SSI 2010, David will deliver a speech at the opening plenary session. He will also lead the work
session “Campus-Wide and Other Implementations” and be a panelist for a work session on “Advanced
Civic Engagement.”
Stephen Carroll’s current projects focus on intersections of pedagogy, technology, assessment, writing,
and learning. He is the director of Core Writing and co-director of the Professional Writing Program at
Santa Clara University. He also serves as the faculty director for the Alpha Residential Learning
Community. He has developed and taught a number of experimental, cross-disciplinary pilot courses to
explore new ways to enhance student learning. He moonlights as a science writer for the National Science
Foundation, having recently completed two reports on their Undergraduate Research
Centers/Collaboratives project. His strong background in information technology stems from many years
in the corporate world, where he served as a computer operations manager, help desk manager and
technical training manager. In addition to his work revamping the Student Assessment of their Learning
Gains (SALG) instrument and website, Stephen is investigating using course-specific writing practices to
enhance learning in the sciences. His recent publications focus on how to use assessment practices to
drive innovation in teaching and learning and on leveraging existing technologies to enhance
communication and accelerate learning, especially in undergraduate learning communities.
At SSI 2010, Stephen will present a concurrent session on “Getting Started with the SENCER-SALG.”
He will also co-present a concurrent session on “Designing Courses Based on Evidence of How People
Learn” and serve as a panelist on two work sessions, “Pedagogy and Assessment” and “Advanced Issues
in Pedagogy and Assessment.” He will lead a workshop on “Assessing for Learning: Getting Started with
the SENCER-SALG” and the “GLISTEN Pre-Institute Workshop on the SENCER-SALG.”
Orianna Carter is a professor of biology at Ohio University. She received her bachelor's degree in
biology from Keene State College in New Hampshire and her doctoral degree in plant biochemistry and
molecular sciences from Washington State University. Orianna completed her graduate work in
bioengineering and held a postdoctoral position in toxicology and biomedical research for the Linus
Pauling Institute. She has focused on studying the effects of natural products in chemoprevention and the
toxic effects of chemicals in the environment using cell culture and animal models. In 2006, she published
‘Comparison of white tea, green tea, epigallocatechin-3-gallate and caffeine as inhibitors of PhIP-induced
colonic aberrant crypts’ (Nutrition and Cancer, 2007, 58) and in 2009 she co-authored ‘E2F4 and
ribonucleotide reductase mediate S-phase arrest in colon cancer cells treated with chlorophyllin in the
International Journal of Cancer. She teaches biology and pre-professional students, using numerous
models and visual aides to encourage scientific inquiry. In 2009, Orianna was awarded a National Science
Foundation Course Curriculum Laboratory Improvement grant to enhance STEM education in southern
Ohio Appalachia to continue her educational work. Orianna has been developing new general science
education courses which focus on environmental sustainability with hands on activities. Orianna shares
her research experiences with undergraduate students, and has developed a field study for first year
biology students which incorporate civic engagement lab experiences with developing a strong foundation
in scientific methodology.
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At SSI 2010, Orianna will co-present the concurrent session “Field Reports: Sources of Lead and Our
Attempts to Minimize It and Survey of Developmental Defects and Pollutants in Local Amphibian
Populations in Ohio Waterways.” She is also the co-author of a poster entitled “Atrazine: Ohio University
Southern Students Study the Effects of an Agricultural Chemical on Amphibians.”
David Clarke is an associate professor of biology at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. He
received his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his master's and
doctoral degrees in plant biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. David was a
postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution and resident plant collector in Guyana. He is trained in
plant diversity and evolution (plant systematics) and his research is focused on patterns of diversity and
evolution in tropical botany, particularly in Guyana, South America. David teaches courses in plant
systematics, general botany, field botany, and plant morphology. His Plants and Humans course for
non-majors is one of two natural science courses in UNCA’s food cluster, an innovative part of UNCA’s
Integrative Liberal Studies curriculum wherein students enroll in natural science, social science, and other
courses all sharing a common theme of our relationship to food. Students in Plants and Humans partner
in cross-course projects with students in other food cluster courses where they share their scientific
understanding of food plants with students from other courses who, in turn, share expertise they have
gained from courses in economics, sociology, and health and wellness.
At SSI 2010, David will co-present the concurrent session “Food for Thought: Integrating Learning
Across STEM and Non-STEM Disciplines Using Cross-Class Projects.”
Kimberly Cossey is an assistant professor of chemistry at Georgia College & State University (GCSU).
She received her PhD from the Pennsylvania State University in 2008, and a bachelor’s degree from
Oklahoma Baptist University. As a new professor, she constantly strives to make organic chemistry more
attainable without lowering the standards of what students need to know for their future studies. Through
the university’s Chem Scholars program, she has also been able to give undergraduates hands-on
experience in a research laboratory. This research allows students to design their own projects. With the
professor acting as a facilitator to their work, students synthesize a molecule of interest. Outside of the
GCSU, she is an officer in the Middle Georgia section of the American Chemical Society. In her first year
at GCSU, Kimberly was given the opportunity to join a faculty development workshop for the creation of
SENCER courses and modules. Having completed post-baccalaureate research in both chemical
education and organic synthesis, she believes that innovative ideas come from merging ideas from
multiple areas, either within or outside of a specific discipline. Through this on-site workshop series, she
has become a part of an interdisciplinary network of faculty on campus that is committed to the design of
integrated or novel courses utilizing the SENCER model (called the Innovative Course Building Group).
Participation in this network has lead to an ongoing cycle of improving current courses and determining
ways to make new courses more effective and engaging to students.
At SSI 2010, Kimberly will co-present a concurrent session on “Creating SENCER Faculty Networks on
Your Campus.”
Jennifer da Rosa is a general science instructor at Texas Woman’s University (TWU) in Denton, Texas.
She received her bachelor’s of science in geology from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
and her master’s of science in geoscience with specialization in oceanography and anthropology from
Texas A&M University.
Jennifer joined the faculty at Texas Woman’s University in 2007 after teaching geology and
oceanography for Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas. Her work at TWU has honed her interest
in innovative physical and earth science education methods. Jennifer pioneered a new general-science
SENCER course, Climate Change: A Human Perspective, in the fall of 2009. The course involves the
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study of climate change through the interdisciplinary lense of meteorology, geology, oceanography,
astronomy, and anthropology. Students examine both natural and anthropogenic climate forcings while
focusing on man/climate adaptations and impacts. In Spring 2010, Jennifer developed another SENCER
course by transforming a preexisting Earth Science course into Earth Science in the Context of Natural
Disasters. The course investigates the cause and effect of natural disasters and explores the prediction,
mitigation, and prevention of catastrophic events.
Prior to her teaching career, Jennifer worked as an oceanographer for the Naval Oceanographic Office’s
(NAVO) Warfighting Support Center at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, analyzing commercial and
classified satellite imagery for oceanographic, hydrographic, and geologic processes vital to United States
Naval Operations. Jennifer is also the founder and owner of Heliogram Science Education, a company
dedicated to the publication of science-based children’s literature and educational material.
At SSI 2010, Jennifer will co-present a concurrent session on “Field Report: Disaster, Drought,
Development, and Degradation—Three Innovative Sources from SCI-Southwest.” She will also copresent
a poster of the same name.
Shanna Dell is the SENCER summer intern in Washington, DC, where she has been helping to
coordinate the Summer Institute. Shanna graduated in May from Beloit College, where she received her
Bachelor’s of science in biochemistry with a minor in health and society. While at Beloit, Shanna took a
number of SENCER classes, assisted with the annual Girls and Women in Science Conference, and
published an article in the Beloit Biologist entitled “ADCC activity as a factor in sex differences in HIV-1
disease progression.”
At SSI 2010, Shanna will serve as part of the on-site staff and be a panelist during the “Students as
Partners in Change” plenary session.
Monica Devanas has been teaching microbiology for over twenty years. She is active in issues of science
education, programs for retention of women in science, and in NSF funded grants to enhance science
education both at Rutgers and in pre-college populations. Her course, first taught in 1992, Biology,
Society, and Biomedical Issues: HIV/AIDS has been recognized as a model course by SENCER. In 1992
she joined the new Teaching Excellence Center as associate director. She is now director of Faculty
Development and Assessment Programs for the renamed Center For Teaching Advancement and
Assessment Research (ctaar.rutgers.edu); leading workshops on teaching portfolios, curriculum design,
learning styles, active and cooperative learning and instructional technology. Monica offers workshops
for faculty and administrators on assessment; assists deans in accreditation reviews and their own reviews
by faculty. She consults with Peter Seldin in his “Teaching Portfolio Workshops,” contributing chapters
to books on teaching portfolios, administrative portfolios and strategies to improve teaching.
At SSI 2010, Monica will present two concurrent sessions, “Portfolios for Many Applications” and
“Active Learning in Large Classes.” She will co-present a concurrent session on “HIV/AIDS and Related
Phenomena” and be a panelist on a work session on “Planning Next Steps and Accessing Resources.
Monica will also lead a session on “Pedagogy and Assessment” and co-facilitate a session on “Designing
a SENCER Course.”
Thomas Dukes is a professor of English at the University of Akron. He teaches graduate and
undergraduate classes in science writing, business and technical writing, writing in the social sciences,
and freshman English. He also teaches a variety of literature courses from sophomore to graduate levels.
He received his bachelor’s and master’s in English (creative writing) from the University of Texas at El
Paso and his PhD in modern literature from Purdue University. He has published scholarship, fiction,
journalism, creative non-fiction, and poetry in a variety of journals; he is the author of one book of poetry,
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Baptist Confidential, and a memoir, Sugar Blood Jesus: A Memoir of Faith, Madness, and Cream Gravy.
He is particularly interested in intersections between science and technology and the humanities due to his
intellectual curiosity and because he owes his daily life to science. His role in this learning community for
freshmen has been to construct science writing assignments at the appropriate level, to remind brilliant
scientists what general admission freshmen can and will not do, and to lift the tone whenever he can. He
has also provided comic relief on field trips when he hears the words and phrases as “electro-shocking
fish” and “get into this stream” and “today we’re going to walk through the waste treatment for four
hours.”
At SSI 2010, Thomas will co-present the concurrent session “Field Reports: Transforming Science
Education at Madonna University and SENCER in a First-Year Learning Community—Questions to Ask
Yourself.”
Richard A. Duschl is the Waterbury Chaired Professor of Secondary Education in the College of
Education at the Pennsylvania State University. Prior to joining Penn State, Richard held the Chair of
Science Education at King’s College London and served on the faculties of Rutgers, Vanderbilt and the
University of Pittsburgh. He received his PhD from the University of Maryland College Park. He
recently served as Chair of the National Research Council research synthesis report Taking Science to
School: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8 (National Academies Press, 2007). With Richard
Grandy, he co-edited Teaching Scientific Inquiry: Implications for Research and Implementation
(SensePublishers, 2008). His research focuses on establishing epistemic learning environments and on
the role of students’ inquiry and argumentation processes. Richard has twice received the ‘JRST Award’
(1989; 2003) for the outstanding research article published in the Journal of Research in Science
Teaching. He also served for more than a decade as editor of the research journal Science Education and
editor for TC Press “Ways of Knowing in Science and Math” book series.
At SSI 2010, Richard will be a panelist on the work session “Advanced Issues in Pedagogy and
Assessment.” He will present both a concurrent session and an Institute workshop as part of a special SSI
track considering pre-service teacher education.
David Ferguson is a distinguished service professor and chair of the department of technology and
society. He holds a joint appointment in the department of applied mathematics and statistics. He has
directed numerous projects, including a half-dozen NSF projects, aimed at improving science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. His research and
teaching thrusts are in the areas of problem solving, advanced technologies in the learning and teaching of
mathematics and science, and socio-technological decision making. David is a New York State and
national leader in programs to enhance the participation of underrepresented groups in science and
engineering. He directs two NSF-funded projects in this area: the SUNY Louis Stokes Alliance for
Minority Participation (LSAMP), and the SUNY Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate
(AGEP). He is the recipient of several awards: U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science,
Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM), Archie Lacey Award of the New York Academy
of Sciences, and the Engineering Educator Award of the Joint Committee on Engineering of Long Island.
At SSI 2010, David will lead a concurrent session on “Addressing Diversity Issues Comprehensively.”
He will also be a panelist for a work session on “Building a Community of Practice,” facilitate a work
session on “What is Civic Engagement” and co-lead a workshop on “Enhancing the Participation of
Women and Underrepresented Minorities in STEM.” David will also preside over the “Students as
Partners in Change” plenary symposium.
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Matthew Fisher is an associate professor of chemistry, chair of the chemistry department at Saint
Vincent College, and a Senior Fellow with the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement. He
received a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Temple University in 1982 and a doctorate in
biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1990. In addition to his responsibilities as a
faculty member, Matt is a member of the college’s Biotechnology Advisory Committee and was the
director of Saint Vincent College's Teaching Enhancement and Mentoring Program for seven years. He
has developed two SENCER model courses, Chemistry of Daily Life: Diabetes and Malnutrition (2005)
and Undergraduate Biochemistry Through Public Health Issues (2009). Chemistry of Daily Life is a
course for non-science majors that fulfills general education requirements while Undergraduate
Biochemistry Through Public Health consists of two courses for undergraduate STEM majors. Matt has
been an active member of the ACS Division of Chemical Education, serving on the Division Program
Committee and as meeting program co-chair for the Division’s program at the August 2008 ACS National
Meeting in Philadelphia. He is also a member of the ACS Committee on Environmental Improvement
(CEI) and helps lead CEI’s efforts in regards to education. Matt is a 2005 Carnegie Scholar and spent the
2005-2006 academic year working on a project to connect topics in undergraduate biochemistry to public
policy, public health, and institutional/personal values in support of integrative learning. He has given
several presentations at conferences and facilitated workshops on integrative learning in the context of
undergraduate science courses, and coordinates NCSCE’s scholarship of teaching and learning initiative.
At SSI 2010, Matthew will lead a workshop on “Inquiring into Our Students’ Learning: The Scholarship
of Teaching and Learning” and co-present a session on “New Application: A Discussion on SENCER and
Pre-Medical Education Featuring the SENCER Model Course Undergraduate Biochemistry Through
Public Health Issues.”
Robert Franco has successfully authored four major NSF grants to support underrepresented students in
STEM degrees and careers. He is an internationally recognized expert on contemporary Samoan,
Polynesian, and Pacific Islander demographic, ecological, health, and cultural issues. He has published on
contemporary Samoan cultural change, traditional Hawaiian water management systems, and
sociocultural factors affecting pelagic fisheries issues in Polynesia and Micronesia. He currently serves as
Kapi’olani Community College's liaison to the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior
Colleges/WASC, Association of American Colleges and Universities, American Council on Education,
Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement
of Teaching (Community Engagement Classification), and Campus Compact. For Campus Compact he
serves as Senior Faculty Fellow for Community Colleges. In this capacity, he conducts training and
technical assistance and research in ten states per year and provides community college, university, and
conference audiences with research-based training designed to improve retention, degree completion, and
transfer rates through service learning and civic engagement curriculum, pedagogy, and partnerships. His
current national research and training focuses on service-learning and reducing the minority academic
achievement gap, strengthening the liberal arts, workforce development, and civic missions of community
colleges as “America’s democracy colleges.” He also serves on the AAC&U Diversity and Democracy
publications board, the ACE Internationalization Collaborative, and the editorial board for the SENCER
International Journal.
At SSI 2010, Bob will present a session on “Service-Learning in the Energy-Climate Era: Degrees
Matter.” He will also be a panelist during the work session “What is Civic Engagement” and co-lead a
session on “Advanced Civic Engagement.”
DonnaJean Fredeen is dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Southern Connecticut State
University. She earned her bachelor’s of art in chemistry from McMurry College and doctorate in
chemistry from Texas A&M University. She joined the chemistry department faculty at Southern
Connecticut State University in the fall of 1987 as an assistant professor and was appointed department
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chairperson in 1994. In spring of 1998, she was appointed dean of the School of Arts & Sciences. As
dean, DonnaJean strategically positioned the school as the cornerstone of the university and has
championed the role of liberal education in higher education, the revision of the Honors College and
general education programs, and the implementation of the SENCER ideals throughout the campus. She
has actively supported science and mathematics outreach programs in the greater New Haven community.
Through her efforts, the Connecticut State University Board of Trustees established the Center for
Excellence in Mathematics and Science at Southern Connecticut State University. She is a co-director of
the SCI-New England and a SENCER Leadership Fellow.
At SSI 2010, DonnaJean will be a panelist for the “Campus-Wide Implementation” work session and copresent
a workshop on “Leading Change: Implementing SENCER Throughout the Department and
Campus.”
Carl Friese currently serves as a professor of environmental biology. His tenure at the University of
Dayton has involved an array of curricular development experiences, experiments and challenges. These
experiences include the development of an interdisciplinary bachelor’s of science degree in environmental
biology, an integrated environmental instrumentation course that was funded by NSF and the Keck
Foundation, and a new course on sustainability whose course culmination project was the design of a
LEED certified living-learning community. After students presented the results of their project to
university administrators (including the president) the decision was made to add the student’s proposal to
the university’s Master Plan for construction in the next few years. Carl was also part of a four-member
interdisciplinary faculty team that developed the courses for what is now called the Integrated Natural
Science Sequence (INSS). The INSS is a non-majors science sequence that integrates physics, geology,
chemistry and biology over three semesters. The continued development and assessment of this
curriculum was funded by UD’s College of Arts and Sciences. College funds were used to help fully
integrate the themes of evolution, energy and the environment into the INSS. College funding also gave
him the support to develop and pilot SENCER modules that instructors can use to teach key biological
concepts. These successfully tested modules cover areas such as population dynamics applied to human
population growth and the development of a conceptual model that links such topics as photosynthesis,
deforestation, carbon and climate change.
At SSI 2010, Carl will co-present a concurrent session on “Field Reports: Large Scale SENCER
Initiatives at Indiana State University and the University of Dayton.”
Zelda Gilbert is a professor of psychology at Woodbury University in Burbank, California. She received
her bachelor's degree from Chatham College, her master's in clinical psychology from West Virginia
University, and her doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Kentucky. She also did
postdoctoral study at UCLA in social psychology. She has worked in private practice, however for most
of her professional life has focused on teaching. Course loads typically include Introductory Psychology,
Abnormal Psychology, Psychobiology, and Statistics. Her resume includes positions as adjunct and fulltime
faculty, dean of arts and sciences, and academic vice president. Currently she is teaching and
working on a large research project on how Chinese women see themselves, their appearance, and their
body image. To further this study, she has studied Mandarin and has received a Faculty Development
Grant and other faculty development support to help pay for the research. In the past three years she and
her research partner have had two papers published and have done two presentations (one in Paris this
summer). A third paper is being prepared. As an administrator and as a faculty member, she has strongly
supported the SENCER model for science education and is pleased to be a part of this conference.
At SSI 2010, Zelda will lead a concurrent session entitled “Field Report: Addiction—A Course
Adaptation at Woodbury University.”
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Thaddeus J. Gish received his PhD in inorganic chemistry at Wayne State University in 1994, under the
mentorship of Professor Stanley Kirschner. His academic rank is associate professor of chemistry at
Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan. He is the program director of environmental science. For the
past 15 years, his research endeavors have focused on monitoring the mercury levels and coliform
bacteria densities of nearby Orchard Lake, as requested by the City of Orchard Lake Village. He has
taught over 190 courses in 15 years covering an assortment of topics: analytical, organic, general, intro,
and aquatic chemistry; general biology; environmental science, limnology (study of lakes); oceanography;
and astronomy. He has been married for over 25 years with three children (and a dog).
At SSI 2010, Ted will co-present a concurrent session on “Field Reports: Transforming Science
Education at Madonna University and SENCER in a First-Year Learning Community—Questions to Ask
Yourself.”
Sandra Godwin is an associate professor of sociology at Georgia College & State University. At SSI
2010, Sandra will co-present a session on “Creating SENCER Faculty Networks on Your Campus” and a
poster on “Animal, Vegetable, Human: The Science and Sociology of Your Food.”
Additional biographical information was not available at the time of publication.
Ellen Goldey is a professor of biology at Wofford College. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the
University of the South and doctorate from Miami University. Prior to coming to Wofford in 1995, Ellen
was a developmental neurotoxicologist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. As principal
investigator (PI) for the project “Seeing the Big Picture: Linking the Sciences and the Humanities” (NSF
CCLI #0126788, 2001), she helped develop a curricular program that combines two general education
courses into learning communities. As PI for “Biological Inquiry: A Model Course and Assessment
Program” (NSF CCLI #0836851, 2009), she spearheaded the development of an inquiry-based,
introductory biology course. In this project Ellen, her ten colleagues, and four undergraduate students
worked together to design the course, which is required for biology majors and taken by over half of
Wofford’s incoming students. The course has a strong assessment plan which has guided further
refinement of the course. Ellen co-led the development of Wofford’s new environmental studies major
(bachelor’s of art and bachelor’s of science tracks), she was a co-PI on a four-institution grant from the
Teagle Foundation to assess the value-added outcomes of integrative programs, and she is a member of
the cadre of Wabash Teagle Assessment Scholars that assist campuses in their efforts to use evidence to
strengthen student learning. Ellen is a SENCER Leadership Fellow and has been working with SENCER
since 2001. Twice Wofford's Faculty Member of the Year (1998 & 2004), she was named Outstanding
Educator of the Year by the United Methodist Higher Education Foundation (2002) and is the inaugural
recipient of the Roger Milliken Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Science (2004). She was
recently named the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor and became the chair of the biology department in
2010.
At SSI 2010, Ellen will lead a work session on “Designing a SENCER Course.” She will also co-present
a plenary symposium on “Students as Partners in Change” and co-facilitate the “Critical Thinking about
Really Big Questions: Integrating the Disciplines” workshop. She will help to facilitate the “Pedagogy
and Assessment” and “What is Civic Engagement” work sessions.
Brian Hagenbuch is director of the Pine Lake Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Studies at
Hartwick College. In this capacity, he provides leadership and management of Hartwick’s 125-acre
residential Pine Lake Environmental Campus, coordinates the environmental science and policy minor,
oversees campus sustainability initiatives, leads Hartwick’s annual academic theme, and teaches a
residential living/learning first-year seminar on sustainability. For nearly 20 years, Brian has been very
active in science and conservation education at the local, regional, and national levels and has developed
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and taught interdisciplinary first-year learning communities linking the natural and social sciences and
humanities. He taught a graduate course for pre-service teachers called Entomology for Educators and a
travel abroad course in Costa Rica. Brian's degrees are in entomology from the Pennsylvania State
University and the University of Florida. His PhD in environmental studies from Antioch University –
New England focused on reconceptualizing natural history study as an interdisciplinary liberal arts
endeavor. Brian's primary teaching and research interests include community-based curricular
development in sustainability studies, assessment of conservation education, student perceptions of
nature, and disturbance ecology in forest ecosystems. For SENCER, Brian is a senior associate,
Leadership Fellow. He is a former interdisciplinary cluster coordinator and New England regional
coordinator.
At SSI 2010, Brian will co-present “Integrating SENCER and Sustainability Practices on Campus” and
co-facilitate work sessions on “Designing a SENCER Course,” “What is Civic Engagement” and
“Planning Next Steps and Accessing Resources.” He will also present a poster on “The Idea and Practice
of Sustainability: Transforming the Living and Learning Experience of First Year Students.”
Kay Harmless is the director for the Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Teacher Education at
Indiana State University. Kay received her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Georgia
Southern University, master’s and specialist’s degrees from Butler University in school administration
and her doctoral degree from Indiana University in School Administration. She has experience in leading
innovative educational programs and school leadership in both Texas and Indiana. Kay has served in
public and charter schools as teacher and administration, for the Indiana Department of Education as
director of PRIME TIME (the state initiative to reduce class size in elementary schools) and as the
director of the Indiana Principal Leadership Academy. She also worked at The Children’s Museum of
Indianapolis as director of the Center for Exploration and director of Public Policy. Her university
experience also includes Butler University and Texas A & M University Commerce. As a lifetime
educator and learner, her professional experiences are focused on being in on the ground floor of
innovative programs. She is an original member of the Indiana State University SENCER Team (2009),
working with students and faculty to SENCERize the campus.
At SSI 2010, Kay will co-present a concurrent session entitled “Field Report: Disaster, Drought,
Development, and Degradation—Three Innovative Courses from SCI-Southwest.” She will also present a
poster on “The SENCER Teaching Model in Indiana State University’s Introduction to Environmental
Science Class.”
Jeannette Haviland-Jones is a professor of psychology and director of the Human Emotions Laboratory
at Rutgers University. She received her bachelor’s of arts in psychology and mathematics from Harvard
University and her PhD in developmental psychology from Michigan State University. Her postdoctoral
work was at Educational Testing Service in Princeton. She is currently on sabbatical after several years as
the vice chair for Undergraduate Education in the Rutgers psychology department - a department with
1200 majors and a concentration in lab-based social science.
Jeannette attended SSI 2003 as a team member and subsequently reinvented Adolescent Psychology (a
course for psychology majors and pre-service teachers) as a SENCER course. This included new
formative assessment strategies and teaching methods that develop critical, scientific thinking. These
methods move the student from being a consumer of facts to a producer of new knowledge.
Jeannette has developed tools for approaching emotion as a dynamic system that influences complex
thought processes and many kinds of behavior, including autonomic behavior. Ecopsychology – or the
effect of the environment on human health and intellectual performance is the most recent focus of the
research. What makes a "healing" space or a "learning" space In a very popular set of studies, Jeannette
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and her colleagues (including Terry McGuire and Pat Wilson, both SENCER alumni) showed that certain
flowers or undetected flower scents promote happiness, social behavior and even memory. Subsequent
research has replicated this and extended it to creative problem solving. They suggested an evolutionary
theory in which flowers became the "pets" of the plant world and are supported by people in order to
provide reciprocal emotional/motivational support. Pertinent to SENCER, the studies of the mechanisms
of affective biases in perception and cognition suggest how informal implicit processing systems facilitate
more explicit learning. Practice and theory are coming together across many domains.
Jeannette has published several books including a text on adolescence, one on the "Genius" of emotion
and is co-editor of the Handbook of Emotion (three editions). The Human Emotions Lab supports the
scholarly work of both graduate and undergraduate students and is a site of lively investigation.
At SSI 2010, Jeannette will co-lead a workshop on “Survivor: SENCER Islands (Students Get Lost in
Places that We Didn’t Even Know Existed,” present a concurrent session on “Practical Uses of Cognitive
Science Strategies to Increase Student Achievement: More Swimming and Less Sinking in Math, Science,
and Technology Waters,” and serve as a panelist on the “Advanced Issues in Pedagogy and Assessment”
work session.
Robert Holm is the director of the Institute for Research and Scholarship at Butler University in
Indianapolis, Indiana. He received his bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Miami and his
masters and doctoral degrees in biological sciences from Northwestern University. Bob has more than 25
years of experience in the environmental management field. Prior to his tenure at Butler, he was
administrator of the Environmental Resources Management Division for the City of Indianapolis. He has
also served as manager of environmental programs for the City of St. Petersburg, Florida, and manager of
the coastal and wetlands section for Metro Dade County, Florida. Building on that experience, he
regularly teaches an environmental biology course where he has incorporated service-learning projects
including wetland restoration, invasive plant species removal and stream restoration. Bob has developed a
natural world course focusing on water quality in the urban environment, and two honors courses –
Environmental Pollution and Environmental Technology. The development of the environmental biology
course and its service-learning component, and data gathered from the water quality course using the
SALG have been presented at two SENCER Summer Institutes.
At SSI 2010, Bob will co-present “The 2010 William E. Bennett Award for Extraordinary Contributions
to Citizen Science Session: Initiatives at Butler University” and present a poster on “Addressing
Environmental Problems in SENCER-Based Courses at Butler University.”
Bert Holmes is a program director in the division of undergraduate education at the National Science
Foundation. At SSI 2010, he will co-present the workshop “Writing Good Proposals to Support Scaling
Up Your SENCER Work.”
Additional biographical information was unavailable at the time of publication.
Judith Iriarte-Gross earned her bachelor’s of science and master’s of science in chemistry from the
University of Maryland College Park and her PhD in inorganic chemistry from the University of South
Carolina. She completed a postdoctoral research project at Southern Methodist University. Before joining
Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in 1996, she worked as a chemist in government and industry
and also taught at several schools in Dallas-Fort Worth, TX. Judith mentors an active undergraduate
research group in both traditional bench chemistry and in the scholarship of science education. Her
current research interests focus on the development of a SENCER general education science course and
on the scholarship of how non-science majors learn science. She was named a SENCER Leadership
Fellow for 2008-2010. She was also named an AWIS Fellow in 2009 and received the 2010 TRIO
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Achievers Award for Washington, DC. Judith is nationally known for her advocacy for encouraging girls
and women in the sciences and received a National Science Foundation grant to support GRITS (Girls
Raised In Tennessee Science). She is the director of the MTSU Expanding Your Horizons conference, an
international conference that encourages girls in middle and high school to explore STEM education and
careers. Both GRITS and EYH facilitated her involvement as director of the GRITS Collaborative
Project, which is the Tennessee branch of the National Girls Collaborative Project. She is program chair
of the National Women Chemists Committee, faculty advisor of the MTSU Women In Science and
Engineering student organization and director of the new WISTEM (Women In STEM) Center for
Tennessee.
At SSI 2010, Judith will co-lead a workshop on “Enhancing the Participation of Women and
Underrepresented Minorities in STEM” and present a poster on “Five Years of SENCER at Middle
Tennessee State University.”
Asaad Istephan is a professor of physical and applied science at Madonna University, Livonia,
Michigan. Asaad regularly teaches Meteorology and Climatology, Physics, Earth Science, Astronomy,
Science Foundation and the Ascent of Man courses. He received his bachelor's degree in physics from
Liverpool University, England and his master’s and PhD in meteorology and applied climatology from
Birmingham University, England. He has worked as a director of the Regional Meteorological Training
Center and as a senior scientific researcher at the Solar Energy Research Center. He has published more
than 50 scientific papers in the fields of solar meteorology, atmospheric physics, environmental pollution
and astronomy. He served on the World Meteorological Organization executive committee panel of
experts in education and training. He has participated in numerous national and international conferences
At SSI 2010, Assad will co-present the concurrent session “Field Reports: Transforming Science
Education at Madonna University and SENCER in a First-Year Learning Community—Questions to Ask
Yourself.”
Nadezhda (Nana) Japaridze is an associate professor of neurocytology at Saint Andrew Georgian
University and a senior scientist at the department of neurocytology, I. Beritashvili Institute of Physiology
in Tbilisi, Georgia. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry and her doctoral degree
in cytology, histology and embryology at the Tbilisi State University. As a research biologist, Nana
studies structural peculiarities of neurons and glial cells in various conditions (memory, addiction,
epilepsy), with different methods (optical, electron and starts atomic force microscopy). In 2005-2006 she
was involved as a project facilitator in SENCER – Georgia supplemental project (NSF) that started in
three main Universities of Georgia. In the framework of the project several SENCER models were
adapted and implemented in all three universities, and additionally in secondary school too. With her
colleagues from Ilia State and Georgian Technical Universities through SENCER Innovation Center,
Nana also promotes the SENCER approach along with the implementation of other modern teaching and
learning methods into different universities and high schools in Tbilisi and regions.
At SSI 2010, Nana will co-present the concurrent session “Field Reports: International SENCER
Initiatives.”
David Johnson is an associate professor of chemistry at the University of Dayton. He received his
bachelor’s degree in chemistry for Illinois Institute of Technology in 1979 and his PhD in inorganic
chemistry in 1983. While in graduate school, he was assigned to the Educational Technology Center as a
research assistant. While there he realized that anything that keeps a student’s interest on a topic will
improve learning. Dave started at the University of Dayton in 1984. At the University of Dayton, he has
taught General Chemistry, Instrumental Analysis, Quantitative Analysis, and Environmental Chemistry.
His research interests include the design and breakdown of synthetic lubricants and additives for the
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aerospace and refrigeration industries, chemistry of lithium in solution and more traditional inorganic
synthesis projects. Dave has applied SENCER ideas in the environmental chemistry course for the last
several years with a significant increase in enrollment and attendance. He is currently attempting to add
SENCER components into the general chemistry courses. He is interested in developing a SENCER
course on the chemistry of art and art restoration to be a part of the Integrated Natural Science Sequence
at the University of Dayton.
At SSI 2010, David will co-present a concurrent session entitled “Field Reports: Large Scale SENCER
Initiatives at Indiana State University and the University of Dayton.”
Trace Jordan holds a bachelor’s degree in applied physics, a master’s in history and philosophy of
science, and a doctorate in chemistry. From 1994-1996, he was the John Dewey Fellow in science studies
at the Eugene Lang College of the New School for Social Research in New York. He currently works at
New York University (NYU) as associate director of the general education curriculum – the Morse
Academic Plan. He teaches in and administers the Foundations of Scientific Inquiry program, a largescale
core curriculum in mathematics and science for non-science majors. His work on the Energy and the
Environment course at NYU was recognized as a SENCER model. Trace serves as a SENCER senior
associate and is a member of the Leadership Council for the SCI-Midatlantic. He is the co editor-in-chief
of Science Education and Civic Engagement: An International Journal. In addition to his work with
SENCER, Trace has been a Project Kaleidoscope faculty member for the 21st Century since 1998 and
serves on the Programming Committee for the Chemical Education Division of the American Chemical
Society. He also serves as Director of Special Projects for the Faculty Resource Network, a national
consortium of schools that includes many minority-serving institutions. Trace received a Distinguished
Teaching Award in 1996 and is a two-time recipient of the Golden Dozen Teaching Award from NYU’s
College of Arts and Science (2006 and 2009).
At SSI 2010, Trace will co-present a concurrent session on “Disseminating Your Work: The SENCER
Journal and Model Series.” He will also co-facilitate work sessions on “Designing a SENCER Course,”
“Planning Next Steps and Accessing Resources,” and “What is Civic Engagement”
Joseph J. Karlesky is the Honorable and Mrs. John C. Kunkel Professor of Government at Franklin &
Marshall College. He received his bachelor's degree from La Salle College and his PhD in public law and
government from Columbia University. He is co-author of The State of Academic Science: The
Universities in the Nation's Research Effort and three editions of American Government, an American
government textbook. He has also authored the monograph, Thinking About Environmental Policy. He
has been a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC and has served as a consultant
for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on home rule for municipalities and on academic science policy
for the State of Montana. He has served as associate dean for academic affairs at Franklin & Marshall and
as co-director of the University of Pennsylvania Master of Governmental Administration Program in
Harrisburg. His teaching and research interests focus on public policy, particularly the interrelationships
between public policy and science and technology and the consequences of these interrelationships for
policies in energy and health. He is currently doing research on decision-making models and dry cask
storage of spent nuclear fuel. His future research includes from the perspective of politics analysis of what
makes public issues complex and contested and the limits of science in helping to resolve such issues. He
regularly teaches courses in American government, understanding public policy, public policy
implementation, and a seminar on health policy and serves as co-chair of the public health major at
Franklin & Marshall.
At SSI 2010, Joseph will co-present a concurrent session on “The Public Health Major in an
Undergraduate Setting.”
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Edward J. Katz is associate provost and dean of university programs at the University of North Carolina
at Asheville. An advance team member at SSI 2003, he led a full team to the 2004 Institute and a second
full team in 2006. He is a Senior Fellow at the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement and codirector
of the SENCER Center of Innovation-South. Prior to becoming associate provost, Ed led
UNCA’s revision of its general education program: the Integrative Liberal Studies program was approved
in 2004 and is now fully implemented. He has received several teaching awards, including UNCA’s
Distinguished Teacher Award. In 2005, the Association of General and Liberal Studies awarded Edward
the Jerry G. Gaff Faculty Award for leadership in liberal education. He has served as president of the
Council for the Administration of General and Liberal Studies, and, in the summer of 2009, was a faculty
member at Project Kaleidoscope’s Baca Faculty Leadership Institute in Crestone, CO. Ed’s interests
includes general education reform, curriculum development, and interdisciplinary liberal arts.
At SSI 2010, Ed will deliver welcoming remarks during the opening plenary session and will also lead a
work session on “Building a Community of Practice.” He will be a panelist for the work session
“Campus-Wide and Other Implementations” and a co-presenter for the concurrent session “Major
Curricular Revisions to promote Interdisciplinary STEM and Non-STEM Linkages.”
Joseph Kirsch is a professor of chemistry who has recently completed a three year term as associate
provost of academic programs at Butler University. Butler University is completing the implementation
of a new core (general education) curriculum, and as associate provost, Joe had the responsibility of
guiding the implementation process. Joe has served as head of the chemistry department and as an interim
dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Science at Butler University. Joe is a coordinator of the Butler
Engineering Dual Degree Program which results from a partnership between Butler and Purdue School
of Engineering and Technology in Indianapolis. He has taught Physical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry,
General Chemistry for Majors, and Chemistry for Non-Majors. Joe has mentored undergraduate students
in research projects, and has a research interests in the study of protein structures by infrared
spectroscopy.
At SSI 2010, Joe will be a panelist for the work session on “Campus-wide and Other Implementations”
and co-present “The 2010 William E. Bennett Award for Extraordinary Contributions to Citizen Science
Session: Initiatives at Butler University.” He will also co-present a poster on “SENCER Ideals and
Fundamental Chemistry Courses.”
Stephanie L. Knight is professor of educational psychology in the College of Education at the
Pennsylvania State University. Prior to joining Penn State in January 2009, she spent 20 years at Texas
A&M University where she was the Houston Endowment Inc. Endowed Chair in urban education. While
at Texas A&M, Stephanie received the university former students’ association award for teaching
excellence and was selected as a University Faculty Fellow as a result of her research and scholarship in
teacher education. Leadership positions include director of the Learning to Teach in Inner-City Schools
(LTICS) Program in Houston urban schools; director of the Center for Collaborative Learning
Communities at Texas A&M; and associate director for Research into Practice in the NSF-funded Center
for Teaching and Learning, Information Technology in Science Center. She also participated as a senior
researcher in the national Center for Research on Excellence and Diversity in Education (CREDE) with
the responsibility for developing the synthesis on research on professional development for teachers of
diverse populations.
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She has served as evaluator for several large projects including the NSF-funded Writing for Assessment
and Learning in the Natural and Mathematical Sciences at Texas A&M, the DOE-funded Partnership for
Quality Education project at University of Houston, and the Danforth School Leaders Program, an
evaluation of four national sites funded by the Danforth Foundation. Her research focuses on effective
classroom practices and pre-service and in-service professional development for teachers. She served as
co-editor of the American Educational Research Journal from 2004-2007 and has published many
articles in journals such as Journal of Teacher Education, Journal of Education of Students Placed at
Risk, Journal of Educational Research, and the International Journal of Learning Environments.
Stephanie serves as director of evaluation and assessment for SENCER and NCSCE.
At SSI 2010, Stephanie will be a panelist for the work sessions on “Pedagogy and Assessment” and
“Advanced Issues in Pedagogy and Assessment.”
David Koetje earned his PhD in plant molecular biology at Purdue University in 1991. Since then, plant
biotechnology and sustainability have been important foci of Dave’s career. His postdoctoral work at
Washington State University focused on cloning and characterization of genes that enable soybean plants
to respond to environmental stress. Many of these genes are responsive to methyl jasmonate, a growth
regulator that wounded plants emit into the atmosphere, signaling their neighbors. Dave continued this
research in his early career as a professor at Fredonia State University in western New York, where he
also headed up a Recombinant Gene Technology program. An opportunity to develop a new
biotechnology program brought him to Calvin College’s biology department in 1998. Over the past dozen
years, Dave’s professional interests have diversified. He and his students have used DNA fingerprinting
to assess genetic diversity within populations of native plants (asters and bladdernuts) and to ascertain
genetic relationships among hosta sports (new genotypes arising from tissue culture). More recently his
scholarship has focused on wider issues in society and in education. He has proposed a place-based
paradigm in agriculture that seeks to promote sustainability by integrating agroecology and
biotechnology. With inspiration from SENCER, he has also led curricular reforms in his department,
making use of learner-centered pedagogies to teach Introductory Biology through some of our society’s
most pressing challenges: biodiversity and climate change; food, fuel, health, and sustainability; public
health and personalized medicine.
At SSI 2010, David will co-present the concurrent session “Field Report: Teaching Biology Through
Societal Challenges—Lessons from a New Biology Course.” He will also co-present a poster on “An
Adaptive Management Strategy for Reforming Undergraduate Curricula for Biology Majors.”
Theo Koupelis is associate dean of arts and sciences at Edison State College in Fort Myers, Florida. He
was previously a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Marathon. After
completing his baccalaureate in his native Greece, he earned a doctorate in physics and astronomy from
the University of Rochester. Theo's specialization is the theoretical modeling of astrophysical outflows
(jets). He is active in science education at many levels; while in Wisconsin, he served as science advisor
to the Birch Trails Girl Scouts (which includes 4,000 scouts in ten counties), as organizer of the Science
Teaching Alliance (which involved his school and area K-12 schools), and as an officer of the Wisconsin
Association of Physics Teachers. He has also served on a number of committees of the American
Association of Physics Teachers. Theo’s course on Science, Society and Global Catastrophes (which he
co-taught with four other colleagues) was selected as one of the four models presented at SSI 2001.
At SSI 2010, Theo will co-present a session on “HIV/AIDS and Related Phenomena.” He will also
co-facilitate work sessions on “Designing a SENCER Course” and “What is Civic Engagement”
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Danielle Kraus is the associate director for the NCSCE and the Center’s signature program, SENCER.
She received her bachelor’s degrees from the Pennsylvania State University and completed a nonprofit
management executive certificate program at Georgetown University. She manages the day-to-day
operations of the national office and coordinates SENCER and the Center’s national events, including the
annual Summer Institute and Washington Symposium. She researches new program opportunities, works
on strategic planning, and contributes to grant preparation and management.
At SSI 2010, Danielle will coordinate the on-site staff. She will also lead a work session on “Planning
Next Steps and Accessing Resources” and lead the “Leadership Fellows Discussion Session.”
Keith Krumpe is dean of natural sciences and professor of chemistry at the University of North Carolina
at Asheville. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Keith received a bachelor’s in chemistry from
Allegheny College (1985) and a doctorate in organic chemistry at Emory University (1991). After
completing his postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, he joined the faculty at
UNC Asheville in 1992 where he served as chair of chemistry (2003-2009) before becoming dean. As a
supervisor of undergraduate research, Keith's focus has been on the synthesis of biologically active
molecules and the development of new synthetic methodologies. His involvement in undergraduate
research has also included serving on the editorial staff of the Proceedings for the National Conference on
Undergraduate Research (NCUR) for 15 years and serving as the onsite editor for the proceedings at each
annual NCUR. Since becoming involved with SENCER, Keith has expanded his scholarly focus to
include teaching and learning; specifically, he is actively involved in developing SENCERized general
and organic chemistry courses for STEM majors, and in using SENCER to improve premedical
education. Keith's work with SENCER has also included serving as a Summer Institute faculty member,
as a senior associate, as a Leadership Fellow, and as a co-director of the SENCER Center of Innovation –
South.
At SSI 2010, Keith will be a panelist on the work session “Planning Next Steps and Accessing
Resources.” He will also co-present the concurrent sessions “New Application: A Discussion on
SENCER and Pre-Medical Education Featuring the SENCER Model Course Undergraduate Biochemistry
through Public Health Issues” and “Major Curricular Revisions to Promote Interdisciplinary STEM and
Non-STEM Linkages.”
Jay B. Labov serves as a senior advisor for education and communications for the National Academy of Sciences
(NAS) and the National Research Council (NRC). He also served for three years as Deputy Director for the
NRC’s Center for Education and was the study director and responsible staff officer for the NRC reports,
Nurturing and Sustaining Effective Programs in Science Education for Grades K-8: Building a Village in
California (2009); State Science and Technology Policy Advice: Issues, Opportunities, and Challenges: Summary
of a National Convocation (2008), Enhancing Professional Development for Teachers: Potential Uses of
Information Technology (2007), Linking Mandatory Professional Development with High Quality Teaching and
Learning: Report from a Workshop (2005); Evaluating and Improving Undergraduate Teaching in Science,
Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (2003); Learning and Understanding: Improving Advanced Study of
Mathematics and Science in U.S. High Schools (2002); Educating Teachers of Science, Mathematics, and
Technology: New Practices for the New Millennium (2000); Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science,
Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (1999); Serving the Needs of Pre-College Science and Mathematics
Education: Impact of a Digital National Library on Teacher Education and Practice (1999); and Developing a
Digital National Library for Undergraduate Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology Education
(1998). He also directed a committee of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine that
authored Science, Evolution, and Creationism (2008).
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He has served as director of the Center for Education’s Standing Committees on Undergraduate Science
Education and Science Education K-12, and the National Academies’ Teacher Advisory Council. Jay was the coprincipal
investigator for a multiyear grant from the National Science Foundation to the Center for Education to
offer workshops to grantees of the NSF’s Math/Science Partnership Initiative to enable them to better understand
and implement the recommendations in NRC reports on education. He continues to oversee efforts at the NAS to
confront challenges to teaching of evolution in the nation’s public schools and oversees a recently expanded effort
of the National Academies to work more closely with disciplinary and professional societies on education issues.
Prior to assuming his position at the NRC in August 1997, Jay was a member of the faculty in the department of
biology at Colby College in Maine, where he served two terms as chair of the division of natural sciences,
associate chair of the department of biology, and as a member of numerous college committees and panels. He
taught courses in Introductory Biology, Mammalian Anatomy and Physiology, Animal Behavior, and
Neurobiology. His research and publications in the life sciences have dealt with physiological and behavioral
aspects of reproduction in mammals. He was responsible for developing and overseeing a partnership program for
Colby scientists and teachers in four local school districts. Jay also has worked with many national organizations
and professional societies to improve science education for both pre-college and undergraduate students. He
received a bachelor’s of science in biology from the University of Miami and a master’s of science in zoology and
PhD in biological sciences from the University of Rhode Island. He was elected as a Fellow in Education of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2005 and as member-at-large for the Education Section
of AAAS for 2009-2013. He also was named a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow in 2008.
At SSI 2010, Jay will lead a work session on “Advanced Issues in Pedagogy and Assessment” and a
session on “Teaching and Communicating Controversial Issues in Science.” He will also co-present a
plenary session on “The Changing Climate of Climate Change.”
Amy Joy Lanou, PhD, is assistant professor of health and wellness for the University of North Carolina
Asheville (UNCA). She currently teaches Nutrition, Women’s Health, Food Politics and Nutrition Policy,
and Understanding Chronic Disease at UNCA. Her current research interests include nutrition for the
prevention of chronic disease, how self-efficacy impacts health behaviors, and nutrition and bone health.
Amy is the co-author of Building Bone Vitality (McGraw-Hill; June 2009) and Healthy Eating for Life for
Children (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; Feb. 2002). She publishes regularly on the relationship between dairy
products and health concerns. Her most recent paper in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
delineates the reasons why dairy products should not be recommended in vegetarian diets. Another paper
in Pediatrics titled "Calcium, dairy and bone health in children and young adults: a reevaluation of the
evidence," shows that currently available evidence does not support the notion that dairy product
consumption promotes bone health in young people. She formerly served as the Physicians Committee for
Responsible Medicine (PCRM) nutrition director overseeing nutrition education and outreach programs
and advocating for healthier diets. She has worked with T. Colin Campbell, PhD, at Cornell University as
a nutrition writer and was managing editor of his newsletter and online journal, New Century Nutrition.
Amy received her bachelor’s of science in nutrition science from the University of California at Davis and
her PhD in human nutrition from Cornell University. Her research was focused on body weight regulation
and the control of food intake.
At SSI 2010, Amy will co-present a session on “Food for Thought: Integrating Learning Across STEM
and Non-STEM Disciplines Using Cross-Class Projects.”
Matthew Laposata is an associate professor of environmental science at Kennesaw State University in
suburban Atlanta and a Leadership Fellow for SENCER. He received his bachelor's degree in biology
education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, his master’s in biology from Bowling Green State
University, and his doctorate in ecology from the Pennsylvania State University. At Kennesaw State, Matt
coordinates the general education science sequence Science, Society, and the Environment which serves
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oughly 6,000 students a year and is heavily influenced from his long involvement with SENCER. He has
been active in the scholarship of teaching and learning, and has received funding from federal and private
sources to support his work. His major curricular projects include the Environmental Science Activities
for the 21 st Century (ESA21), a heavily-utilized curricular resource of introductory environmental science
activities, and Technology-enhanced Activity Modules for Science (TEAMS) that uses digital media to
promote STEM inquiry approaches in the elementary classroom. His current project, Sustainable Homes:
Building “Smarter” Houses Today for a Better Tomorrow, is creating curricular materials on sustainable
housing for use in introductory science courses for the K-12 and introductory college levels. Matt’s fellow
project with SENCER aims to tap the abundant expertise in the organization’s members in grant writing,
reviewing, and administration to aid SENCER participants in preparing high-quality proposals for
curricular projects that support SENCER’s mission.
At SSI 2010, Matt will be a panelist on the work session “Building a Community of Practice.” He is also
a co-author on a poster entitled “A One-Stop (Curricular) Shop on Sustainable Housing.”
Sharon LeDuc has been the deputy director for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s
(NOAA) National Climatic Data Center since 2001. She holds a PhD in statistics from the University of
Missouri. Sharon has been a part of NOAA since 1974 where she began her career at the then cooperative
institute located at the University of Missouri – Columbia. She served as an associate editor for the
Journal of Applied Meteorology, a consulting editor for Weatherwise, an American Mathematical Society
chair for probability and statistics, a rapporteur for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Commission of Climatology, a lecturer for WMO in statistics, and as a delegate at the 10 th Commission of
Climatology at WMO. Sharon also served on an assignment to the Environmental Protection Agency as
part of NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory for 13 years. While there she was chief of the Climate Branch
and managed the tech transfer of third generation of air quality models, including model evaluation and
graphic/visualization of model output.
Sharon has received numerous awards for her outstanding work including the Department of Commerce
Gold Medals (2) and a Bronze Medal, and two Bronze Medals from the Environmental Protection
Agency, and a NOAA Administrator’s Award in 2006. She has also taught and advised as adjunct at a
number of colleges and universities including University of Oklahoma, University of Missouri, William
and Mary University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and
Duke University. In 1999 she was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from her undergraduate
alma mater, Eastern Illinois University. Sharon was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
At SSI 2010, Sharon will co-present a plenary session on “The Changing Climate of Climate Change.”
Dennis Lehman is currently professor emeritus and special assistant to the president at Harold
Washington College. He was named the Harold Washington College Distinguished Professor for 2004-
2005, chair of the physical science department from 2000-2003, and chair of the science department from
2003-2004. Dennis was visiting professor of chemistry at Northwestern University from 1974-1988 and
an instructor in biochemistry at the Northwestern University School of Medicine from 1980-1991. He
received his bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University and his doctorate from Northwestern
University. He is the co-author of Chemistry for the Health Sciences, now in its 8th edition. Dennis is
currently the co-director of the SCI-Midwest, a SENCER Leadership Fellow, and co-PI on the NSFfunded
STEP grant for Harold Washington and Roosevelt University for developing SENCER cohorts for
math and science majors, developing several SENCER cohorts for developmental and honors programs
and developing Great Lakes environmental proposals
At SSI 2010, Dennis will be a panelist on the work session “Planning Next Steps and Accessing
Resources.”
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Joseph Liddicoat is an adjunct professor of science at New York University (NYU) and City College of
New York (CCNY) where he has taught several liberal arts courses for more than 20 years. He is retired
from the department of environmental science at Columbia University’s Barnard College. His graduate
education is in earth science and geophysics from Dartmouth College and the University of California,
Santa Cruz. Joe’s published research is about Earth’s past magnetic field (paleomagnetism), tectonics,
paleoclimate, paleontology, and heat flow.
At Barnard, NYU, and CCNY, Joe has been part of the development and teaching of several courses that
embrace SENCER ideals and philosophy. One of the Barnard courses he has worked on with Peter Bower
and the Center for New Teaching and Learning at Columbia University is the SENCER Model
Brownfield Action, the topic of a concurrent session at SSI 2010. The session will center on the
experiences Joe and others have had teaching Brownfield Action to high school students in NYC from
Harlem, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, and to other students at an independent high school in
Manhattan. At NYU, the courses that have been proposed and taught following attendance at the
SENCER Summer Institutes since 2004 are Global Ecology, Environmental Restoration, Ecological
Restoration, and Carbon’s Corner in the Global Climate Challenge, which is the topic of Joe’s poster at
the SSI 2010. At CCNY, the SENCER course is New York Harbor, which was described in a poster Joe
presented at the SSI 2009 in Chicago. Joe was chosen as a SENCER Leadership Fellow in 2008, and he is
part of two post-Institute Implementation Award teams, one that he leads at NYU and another at Kansas
State University that is led by Saugata Datta.
At SSI 2010, Joe will present a session on “The SENCER Brownfield Action National Model in New
Applications: Instructing NYC High School Students in Environmental Science.” He is also the author of
the poster “Carbon’s Corner in the Global Climate Challenge” and the co-author of the poster “Using the
SENCER Model Brownfield Action in Undergraduate Environmental and Geological Course Curricula.”
Cynthia Maguire is a lecturer II for general science and chemistry at Texas Woman’s University (TWU)
in Denton, Texas. She received her bachelor’s of science in biology and her master’s of science in
chemistry from TWU. Cynthia strives to improve science comprehension among non-science majors by
helping her students tackle their fear of science and get excited about learning. Cynthia established the
first general science SENCER course at TWU, Environmental Chemistry: Global Perspectives, in the fall
of 2007. The course examines chemical principles in the context of significant environmental issues such
as sustainable energy, the ozone layer, adequate water quality/quantity, and acid rain. Through abundant
field experience, students learn to assess environmental risk, collect surface water samples for analysis,
and explore impacts of human development on nearby natural areas. Each semester, Cynthia shares her
passion for science education and environmental water monitoring as her students become certified water
quality monitors for the Texas Stream Team. Cynthia was recently chosen as the president-elect of the
Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT). She will serve as the president of the organization in 2011. Her
responsibilities involve the organization the society’s annual meeting, which will take place October 7-10
on TWU’s Denton campus. Cynthia hopes the October symposium will educate the public and show
participants how to practice sustainable landscaping on their property and in their communities. The
mission of NPSOT is to promote the conservation, research and utilization of the native plants and plant
habitats of Texas.
At SSI 2010, Cynthia will co-present the concurrent session “Field Report: Disaster, Drought,
Development, and Degradation—Three Innovative Courses from SCI Southwest” and a poster on the
same subject.
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Lia Leon Margolin is an associate professor of mathematics at Marymount Manhattan College in New
York City, NY. She received her PhD in theoretical nuclear physics and applied mathematics from Tbilisi
State University in Georgia. She is a recipient of Career Education Corporation’s (CEC) “Educator of the
Year 2005” award for teaching excellence and University of Phoenix (UOP) Distinguished Teaching
Award of the year 2008. She facilitates summer doctoral residencies and doctoral courses in philosophy
and research design at the UOP School of Advanced Studies. Lia’s current research interests are in
theoretical optics, mathematical modeling of few-electron quantum dots (artificial atoms) and few-body
hypernuclear systems. She has been a research fellow at the Laboratory of Holographic Recording and
Processing of Information of The Institute of Cybernetics in Georgia since 2006. In summer 2007, she
was awarded a diplomate in mathematical physics in recognition of her work as a research fellow. Lia is
also a recipient of J. Soros International Science Foundation Grant for her original research in theoretical
physics. She has ongoing research collaborations with scientists at New York City College of
Technology, CUNY and Tbilisi State University, Georgia. Lia has developed two new upper level shared
curriculum courses in mathematics. The first course, Modeling Dynamics of Life, focuses on the
mathematics underlying dynamic modeling of biological, environmental, economical, sociological, and
physical systems. The second course, Mathematics without Boundaries, explains how the laws of
mathematics are anchored in human experience, and how mathematics provides a rational structure that
transcends geographical, historical, national, philosophical, and linguistic boundaries.
At SSI 2010, Lia will co-present a concurrent session on “How to Improve Student Quantitative
Reasoning Skills in Natural Sciences.”
Mark Masthay is an associate professor and the chair of the department of chemistry at the University of
Dayton. At SSI 2010, Mark will co-present a concurrent session entitled “Field Reports: Large Scale
SENCER Initiatives at Indiana State University and the University of Dayton.”
Additional biographical information was unavailable at the time of publication.
Leah Greden Mathews is associate professor of economics at the University of North Carolina
Asheville. She received her bachelor’s degree in economics, French and international affairs at Marquette
University and her doctoral degree in Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota. As an applied
environmental economist, Leah’s research focuses on estimating the value of those things you can’t buy
on grocery store shelves like water quality, scenic quality and cultural heritage. Her latest research
project, the USDA-funded Farmland Values Project, applied these nonmarket valuation techniques to
study the benefits that farmland provides residents and visitors to western North Carolina. Leah regularly
teaches courses in Principles of Microeconomics, Land Economics, and Natural Resource Economics;
most of her course sections each year are writing-intensive. Leah is actively involved in the cluster of
courses at UNCA entitled Food for Thought: Engaging the Citizen in the Science and Politics of Food
Information, Food Consumerism, Nutrition and Health which became a SENCER model in 2008. She is
currently developing a new course for the cluster on the Economics of Food; it will be taught for the first
time in fall 2010.
At SSI 2010, Leah will co-present a session on “Food for Thought: Integrating Learning Across STEM
and Non-STEM Disciplines Using Cross-Class Projects.”
Byron R. McCane is Albert C. Outler Professor of Religion and chair of the department of religion at
Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC. A field archaeologist, Byron has excavated in Israel, Jordan, and
Rome. He is the author of Roll Back the Stone: Death and Burial in the World of Jesus (Trinity, 2003)
and has appeared in archaeological documentaries on National Geographic, Discovery, and the History
Channel. He is married to Ellen S. Goldey, and his lifelong ambition (still unrealized) is to play third base
for the Cincinnati Reds.
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At SSI 2010, Byron will present the concurrent session “SENCER Backgrounder: Bull in a China Shop or
Deer in the Headlights Learning to Teach Interdisciplinary Courses.” He will also co-present the plenary
symposium on “Students as Partners in Change” and a workshop on “Critical Thinking About Really Big
Questions: Integrating the Disciplines.”
Terry McGuire is a professor and vice chair in the department of genetics at Rutgers University. He
obtained his bachelor’s degree from the Ohio State University and his doctorate from the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has published in many different areas including Mendelian and
mathematical genetics, behavioral and neural genetics, and ecological genetics. He has designed and
taught a wide range of courses within the department of genetics. Terry has been an active participant in
the SENCER project. He has been a SENCER senior associate and core faculty member since 2004, and
serves as a Senior Fellow of the NCSCE. He is the author of a SENCER backgrounder describing his
journey as a professor. With Monica Devanas, he is co-director of the SENCER Center for Innovation-
Midatlantic. In addition to his work with SENCER he is a BEN (BioSciEdNet) Scholar (2006) and a
Rutgers Presidential CASTL Fellow (Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning).
In 2007, he was recognized for his Distinguished Contributions to Undergraduate Education in the School
of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University. He is also a lead editor for the online learning resource
Scitable – Nature Education. This year, his new course Evolutionary Medicine was selected as a SENCER
Model.
At SSI 2010, Terry will present a session on “A 2010 SENCER National Model: Evolutionary Medicine.”
He will also be a panelist on the work sessions “Pedagogy and Assessment” and “Campus-Wide and
Other Implementations” and a workshop on “Survivor: SENCER Islands (Students Get Lost in Paces that
We Didn’t Even Know Existed.”
Debra Meyer is a professor in the biochemistry department at the University of Pretoria in South Africa.
Her research efforts focus on vaccine development and identifying novel compounds with activity against
HIV/AIDS. Since her time as a graduate student at UC Davis, she has been very active in HIV/AIDS
education projects at various forums. In Gauteng Province, South Africa, she has been involved in
HIV/AIDS education projects with numerous individuals and organizations. Debra is involved in science
training of high school teachers and teachers in training, helped to introduce SENCER as a means of
incorporating HIV/AIDS into the formal university curriculum to science educators in Kenya, Tanzania,
Uganda and Ghana and continues her independent work in HIV education and prevention efforts. She
presents annual SENCER symposia at institutions in South Africa and in 2009 presented a paper on the
benefits of SENCER at a conference on curriculum integration in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Debra is
interested in the global applicability of SENCER and the program's potential role in the
internationalization of science education.
At SSI 2010, Debra will co-present session on “HIV/AIDS and Related Phenomena” and “International
SENCER Initiatives.” She will also co-facilitate a work session on “Pedagogy and Assessment.”
Catherine Hurt Middlecamp is the director of the Chemistry Learning Center and the chair of the
Integrated Liberal Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Cathy has been with
SENCER since its inception in 2000, serving currently as a senior associate, a member of the National
Fellowship Board, and a member of the board of advisers for GLISTEN. With Omie Baldwin, she
developed the 2004 SENCER Model course, Chemistry and Ethnicity: Uranium and American Indians.
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In 2007, Cathy was appointed as the editor-in-chief of Chemistry in Context, a project of the American
Chemical Society that teaches chemistry in the context of real-world issues. As a member of the author
team, she has been the lead author for the chapters on air quality, acid rain, ozone depletion, nuclear
energy, and sustainability. In addition, Cathy has received numerous teaching awards, including the
University of Wisconsin System-wide Underkofler Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2004. She is a
fellow of the Association for Women in Science (2003), AAAS (2004), and in the inaugural class of
fellows at the American Chemical Society (2009). Cathy did her undergraduate studies at Cornell
University (1968-72), graduating Phi Beta Kappa. She was awarded a Danforth Fellowship for graduate
study and earned her doctorate in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1976.
At SSI 2010, Cathy will co-present a plenary on “The Changing Climate of Climate Change” and a
workshop on “Writing in SENCER Courses.” She will also present a concurrent session on “A SENCER
National Model: Uranium and American Indians—How One SENCER Course Can Lead to Another” and
co-facilitate a work session on “What is Civic Engagement”
Amanda Moodie is the program assistant for NCSCE and the Center’s newest initiative, GLISTEN. She
received her bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida in Spanish. She interned with
SENCER during last year’s Institute and now works in the national office full time on the SENCER and
GLISTEN initiatives. Amanda is responsible for assisting the leadership of the GLISTEN and SENCER
projects, coordinating events for NCSCE and SENCER, and providing administrative support for NCSCE
and GLISTEN.
At SSI 2010, Amanda will coordinate on-site staff.
Karen Kashmanian Oates currently serves as the deputy for the Division of Undergraduate Education at
the National Science Foundation. Prior to joining NSF, she served as the founding provost for Harrisburg
University of Science and Technology and was the co-principal investigator with David Burns on the
SENCER grant. Karen has recently been named the Dean of Arts and Sciences at Worcester Polytechnic
Institute (WPI) and will be joining WPI immediately after SSI 2010.
Karen received her bachelor's in biology from Rochester Institute of Technology and her doctorate in
biochemistry from George Washington University. After completing her doctorate, she spent several
years at the National Institutes for Health/National Cancer Institute as a visiting research fellow, working
on the proliferate active effects and characterization of thymic hormones. She has published numerous
research papers and received numerous grants and awards. In 1985, she joined the faculty of George
Mason University, and in 1995 she became associate dean for the College of Integrative Studies (New
Century College) at George Mason University. In 1997, Karen became a senior science fellow at
AAC&U, where she worked towards integrating the sciences into a variety of AAC&U projects.
Nationally, Karen conducts faculty development workshops on a variety of topics including assessment
strategies, leading change, integrating service learning in the curriculum, community- and discoverybased
research, using research on how people learn to develop programs as well pedagogies associated
with learning communities. With David Burns, she was honored in 2008 with the Bruce Alberts Award
for Excellence in Science Education from the American Society for Cell Biology.
At SSI 2010, Karen will co-present the concurrent sessions “Designing Courses Based on Evidence of
How People Learn” and “Field Report: International SENCER Initiatives.” She will also be a panelist for
a work session on “Advanced Issues in Pedagogy and Assessment,” present a session on “Developing the
Faculty We Need” and co-present a workshop on “Leading Change: Implementing SENCER Throughout
the Department and Campus.” Karen will also address SSI participants during Institute closing remarks.
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Glenn Odenbrett is a nationally recognized leader in the area of integrating community service with
undergraduate coursework, and regularly serves as either a coordinator or campus team facilitator for
conferences and training institutes in this area. In 1998, he organized and hosted a national institute on
service learning in the science, engineering, and mathematics disciplines, and has presented workshops on
this topic at previous SENCER Summer Institutes. During his 11-year tenure as director of the Office of
Student Community Service at Case Western Reserve University, he coordinated faculty development
initiatives that promoted service-learning and community-based research across the undergraduate
curriculum. In March of 2009, as a SENCER Leadership Fellow, he coordinated a SENCER-based Great
Lakes Stewardship Conference that attracted faculty, students, and community partners from seven states
and Quebec. Until joining the staff of the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement, Glenn
coordinated CLEAN (Collaborative Learning Environmental Action Network, a project of the Western
Reserve Resource Conservation and Development Council), an inter-institutional Northeast Ohio affiliate
of SENCER focused on integrating civic engagement and the STEM disciplines at the undergraduate
level, and served on the Leadership Council of the SENCER Center for Innovation-Midwest. In August of
2009, Glenn became the NCSCE project director of GLISTEN, the Great Lakes Innovative Stewardship
Through Education Network, a service-learning program that is promoting the integration of Great Lakes
stewardship and restoration activities with undergraduate STEM curricula in seven states.
At SSI 2010, Glenn will co-present a session on “Promoting SENCER-Based Approaches to Great Lakes
Restoration” and co-present a workshop on “Writing in SENCER Courses.” He will be a panelist on work
sessions on “Planning Next Steps and Accessing Resources,” “Advanced Civic Engagement,” and “What
is Civic Engagement” He will also lead the GLISTEN Pre-Institute discussions.
Katalin Othmer is an assistant professor of mathematics at Marymount Manhattan College, NY. She
received her PhD in control and dynamical systems, and her master’s of science in physics at the
California Institute of Technology. As an undergraduate at the University of Sydney, Australia, she
majored in mathematics, physics, and philosophy. Her area of research is the mathematical modeling of
phase transitions in physical and chemical processes. Currently, she is developing metrics for assessing
the quality of the geometry of ordered systems, in particular self-assembled systems, and refining a new
optimization method for the generation of self-assembly potentials. Katalin regularly teaches a
quantitative reasoning course that fulfills the math requirement that is a part of Marymount Manhattan's
liberal arts education. She has incorporated community-based learning components into this class, as well
as into a first-year physics course for science majors. These course components help students to develop
their ability to communicate mathematical and scientific ideas effectively and apply concepts learnt in the
classroom, while at the same time benefitting members of the local community and engaging students.
Her students have tutored mathematics and run a math club called “The Game of Life” at an after-school
program for middle-school students that focused on applications of mathematics in real-life situations
such as personal budgeting, vacations, and building your dream home. Other students have designed and
implemented science workshops and demonstrations for elementary-school students.
At SSI 2010, Katalin will co-present a session on “How to Improve Student Quantitative Reasoning Skills
in Natural Sciences.”
Don Pair is an associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Dayton. He is
responsible for development and coordination of existing and new college- and university-wide curricular
and co-curricular initiatives. He is a professor of geology and received his bachelor's degree in geology
from St. Lawrence University and his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Waterloo and
Syracuse University, respectively. His research in glacial geology combines mapping with undergraduate
student mentoring in a number of field settings.
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As associate dean, he is also responsible for integrative or collaborative programs involving
undergraduate curriculum and co-curriculum in the college. Recent examples of these include the
university's ongoing involvement in SENCER, coordination of faculty development and curricular
planning for both the Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (SEE) Initiative and the Rivers Institute.
At SSI 2010, Don will be co-presenting the session “Field Report: Large Scale SENCER initiatives at
Indiana State University and the University of Dayton.”
Karin Peterson is associate professor of sociology at UNC Asheville. She has a PhD from the University
of Virginia, a diplôme d'études approfondies from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in
Paris, and a bachelor’s degree from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College. Karin’s research and teaching
interests are in the area of the sociology of culture, with a focus on the arts and knowledge. She teaches in
UNC Asheville’s Food for Thought topical cluster, including courses entitled Technology in Everyday
Life and Sociology of Gender. She is currently conducting research on cultural conceptions of weight,
weight loss and obesity.
At SSI 2010, Karin will co-present a concurrent session on “Food for Thought: Integrating Learning
Across STEM and Non-STEM Disciplines Using Cross-Class Projects.”
Pamela M. Proulx-Curry received a bachelor’s in chemistry from the University of Maine and a PhD in
analytical chemistry from the University of New Hampshire. She began her college teaching career in
1995 at the University of Maine at Machias. In 1999 Pam moved to Unity College, where she served as
associate professor of chemistry and as faculty administrator for teaching and learning. She is currently
the executive director of the Wisconsin Campus Compact, promotes public and community service that
develops students’ citizenship skills, helps campuses forge effective community partnerships, and
provides resources and training for faculty seeking to integrate civic and community-based learning into
the curriculum. Pam also serves as a SENCER Leadership Fellow, and coordinator for the GLISTEN
Milwaukee Cluster.
At SSI 2010, Pam will lead work sessions on “Advanced Civic Engagement” and “What is Civic
Engagement”
Helen Qammar, director of the Institute for Teaching and Learning and associate professor of chemical
and biomolecular engineering at the University of Akron, received her bachelor’s of science degree in
chemical engineering from Syracuse University. After working as an engineer for Exxon Research and
Engineering Co., she completed her master’s degree and her PhD in chemical engineering from the
University of Virginia. In the department of chemical engineering Helen has been influential in curricular
design and assessment of student learning. She received the university designation as a SoTL Fellow and
Faculty Fellow for Assessment. She was awarded an NSF CAREER award in part to develop a vertically
integrated design curriculum. In 2008, all undergraduate chemical engineering students were involved in
a team-based project on the potable water crisis in Haiti. This humanitarian issue yielded energetic
discussions on socio-cultural, political, economic, and education issues in all 16 teams. Students reported
a higher level of interest in getting the engineering solution right and viewed the humanitarian issue as the
vehicle for more effective teamwork, communication and project management skills. This work was
presented at a SENCER Washington Symposium and Capitol Hill Poster Session.
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As director of the Institute for Teaching and Learning, Helen is engaged with research on reflective and
critical thinking, assessment of general education and students’ perspectives of academic advising. She
serves as senior personnel for an NSF CCLI Phase II grant to implement SENCER pedagogy in first-year
learning communities and the integration of citizen-science across the curriculum.
At SSI 2010, Helen will co-present the concurrent session “Field Reports: Transforming Science
Education at Madonna University and SENCER in a First-Year Learning Community—Questions to Ask
Yourself.”
Carol Reeves is professor of English at Butler University in Indianapolis. She has a bachelor’s of art and
a master’s of art in English from Texas Tech University and a PhD from Texas Christian University. She
began her post-graduate career in 1989 at Butler where she has run writing programs and where she is
now the director of the Butler Program in Science, Technology and Society. Her research and
publications have focused on how scientists communicate new, revolutionary or iconoclastic ideas to their
peers and how scientific findings are communicated to the public. Her research has led to articles about
the language of AIDS, the rhetorical dimensions of Mad Cow Disease and the language of the human
genome. Currently, she is examining the language of climate change over the past fifty years. Her
teaching includes courses on rhetoric and science, literature and medicine, medical and environmental
writing, and utopian fiction. Last year, she was named the Mortar Board professor of the year in her
college by Butler students. As director of the STS program at Butler, Professor Reeves has been working
with other faculty to develop two major tracks within the program – health and community studies and
environmental studies. She is new to SENCER, but most of her courses involve various levels of
experiential learning leading to student-initiated research and writing projects that serve the Indianapolis
community. For example, several STS majors are currently working with a team made up of public health
nurses, physicians, and communications specialists to increase public awareness of the need for universal
HIV testing of pregnant women in order to prevent perinatal infections, which have risen 400% in the last
two years in Indiana. Her Literature and Medicine course linked individual students to an HIV/AIDS
service organization where they interviewed case workers about their caseload and their views about HIV
prevention campaigns.
At SSI 2010, Carol will present a concurrent session on “The Call of Story and the Pre-Med Major.”
Eliza Jane Reilly is the director of the Phillips Museum of Art and past director of the Center for Liberal
Arts and Society at Franklin & Marshall College, where she also teaches in the American studies
program. Before coming to Franklin & Marshall in 2003, she was director of programs in the Office of
Science, Health, and Student Engagement at AAC&U, working on the SENCER and PHHE programs.
From 1998 to 2003 she also served as the executive director of the American Conference of Academic
Deans, a national organization of chief academic officers and other academic administrators committed to
improving undergraduate liberal education.
Eliza received a master’s in art history and a doctorate in American history from Rutgers University. She
is a senior scholar with the SENCER project, where she serves as general editor of the SENCER model
series. She also is co-editor of the peer-reviewed, web-based publication Science Education and Civic
Engagement: An International Journal.
At SSI 2010, Eliza will preside over the plenary session “Staying on the Cutting Edge.” She will
co-present the concurrent sessions on “The Public Health Major in an Undergraduate Stetting” and
“Disseminating Your Work: The SENCER Journal and Model Series.” She will also be a panelist on the
work sessions “Building a Community of Practice” and “Campus-Wide Implementation.”
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Rob Sanford is professor and chair of the department of environmental science at the University of
Southern Maine. His research interests include environmental impact assessment, environmental
archaeology, and site plan review of water-related impacts. After earning a bachelor's degree in
anthropology at the State University of New York College at Potsdam, he received his master's and
doctorate in environmental science from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry at
Syracuse. Rob is co-director of the SENCER Center for Innovation-New England.
At SSI 2010, Rob will co-present a workshop on “Leading Change: Implementing SENCER Throughout
the Department and Campus.” He will also co-facilitate work sessions on “Pedagogy and Assessment”
and “What is Civic Engagement” and be a panelist for the work session “Planning Next Steps and
Accessing Resources.”
Herbert Schanker is an associate professor of computer science at College of Staten Island (CSI) of City
University of New York. He received his bachelor's and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from
City College and was licensed in New York as a professional engineer. Herbert has vast experience in the
field of data communications and digital systems, and has held positions of responsibility in industry. He
was program manager for Sequential Information Systems, responsible for producing sophisticated
electronic systems such as a tracking device (optical encoder) used in space ship entry for NASA’s
Apollo program; electronics lab director and instructor at New York Medical College; systems manager
of CPU and data communication systems at State University of Stony Brook; group leader of the data
packet switching area at ITT World Communications; and AVP for European American Bank. He also
provided digital systems consultation for the financial and construction industries.
At his present teaching position at CSI he has taught all levels of computer science, engineering and
technology where he developed original courses in computers and data communications. Herbert has also
a strong interest in the STEM disciplines being integrated and taught to non-science majors. Through his
involvement at previous SENCER conferences, he and his colleagues have begun to improve the
education, assessment and interest for the computer science survey course’s student body. To assist the
progress of this work, SENCER has awarded his CSI team an NSF sub-grant to implement a unique and
new model learning community combining a computer science and a government course. This melding is
to optimize the learning of science through the exploration and promotion of civic engagement via the
cooperative education received and reinforced in both subjects.
At SSI 2010, Herbert will present the concurrent session “Field Report: SENCERizing Technology
Education.”
Dr. Mel Schiavelli presently serves as the founding president of the Harrisburg University of Science and
Technology, the only STEM-focused comprehensive university located between Philadelphia and
Pittsburgh. Founded in 2001 to address Central Pennsylvania’s need for increased opportunities for study
leading to careers in STEM fields, Harrisburg University is a private, non-profit independent university.
A champion of making a science and technology-focused education accessible to traditionally
underserved students, Mel has committed Harrisburg University to increasing the number of students
pursuing degrees in STEM fields in the region.
Additionally, he is a charter member of the Manufacturing Institute’s Education Council. He also serves
as a member of Governor Rendell's Early Learning Investment Commission, which secures public
investment in early learning by focusing on practices that are educationally, economically and
scientifically sound by increasing business, civic and public awareness of the importance of early
childhood education.
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Mel earned his bachelor’s of science in chemistry at DePaul University and his PhD in organic chemistry
at the University of California, Berkeley. He has taught at the College of William and Mary, the
University of Utah, and the University of Delaware during his 41-year career in higher education. He has
served as a department chair, dean, provost and acting president at the College of William and Mary and
as provost at the University of Delaware. Mel has published numerous scientific articles and book
chapters as well as written on higher education topics and chemical education. The National Science
Foundation and the Petroleum Research Fund have supported his research in the mechanisms of acidcatalyzed
and solvolysis reactions. He retains his longstanding ties with the University of Aberdeen,
Scotland as a senior research fellow, is a member of the American Chemical Society, the Royal Society of
Chemistry, London, and an elected member of the Sigma Xi Scientific Society. He has served as a
member of the Board of the Medical College of Hampton Roads, Virginia and as the Chair of numerous
accreditation teams for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Middle States
Association.
Mel will deliver welcoming remarks at SSI 2010.
Patrick Schoff is a research associate for the Natural Resources Research Institute at the University of
Minnesota – Duluth. He also serves as coordinator for the GLISTEN - Duluth/Superior Cluster,
organizing two and four-year colleges and universities, community-based organizations, and informal
science education venues around issues affecting Lake Superior. At SSI 2010, Pat will co-present the
concurrent session “Promoting SENCER-Based Approaches to Great Lakes Restoration.”
Additional biographical information was unavailable at the time of publication.
Amy Shachter is the associate provost for research initiatives and an associate professor of chemistry at
Santa Clara University. She received her baccalaureate at Knox College and earned her PhD in inorganic
chemistry at the University of Colorado–Boulder. Her research interests center on porphyrin synthesis.
Her work to improve undergraduate science education has been supported by the Howard Hughes
Medical Institute, the National Science Foundation, and the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. Amy
serves as the co-director of the SENCER Center for Innovation–West and is a Senior Fellow for the
National Center for Science and Civic Engagement.
At SSI 2010, Amy will present a session on “The Basics of Community-Based Research.” She will also
co-present a session on “Integrating SENCER and Sustainability Practices on Campus” and be a panelist
on the work sessions “Pedagogy and Assessment” and “Building a Community of Practice.”
Richard D. Sheardy was born in Lake Orion, MI and received his bachelor’s of science in chemistry
education at Michigan State University. After earning his PhD in organic chemistry at University of
Florida, he had a post doctoral fellowship in biophysics at University of Rochester. He began his
academic career at the Hazleton Campus of Penn State University and then went to Seton Hall University
where he initiated his research on DNA conformation and stability. At Seton Hall, Richard mentored
sixteen PhD students. In 2006, he moved to Texas Woman’s University where he is currently professor
and chair of the department of chemistry and physics. He teaches freshman chemistry, organic chemistry
and biochemistry and continues his research focusing on the structure, stability and ligand binding
properties of DNA quadruplexes. He is on the Board of Directors for the Calorimetry Conference, is codirector
of SCI-Southwest and is a SENCER Leadership Fellow.
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In August of 2008, Richard organized a symposium for the national meeting of the American Chemical
Society (ACS) in the Division of Chemical Education featuring speakers from around the country
presenting the “why for's” and “how top’s” of SENCER. As a result of that symposium, he edited and
contributed a chapter to Science Education and Civic Engagement: The SENCER Approach, published by
the American Chemical Society Symposium Books series. Along with Trace Jordan and Matt Fisher,
Richard helped organize another symposium (Civic Engagement and Chemistry Education) for the annual
meeting of the ACS in 2009. He has also presented invited talks on the SENCER approach to the annual
meeting of Partners in Science (San Diego, CA) and at the Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference
(College Park, MD).
At SSI 2010, Richard will be a panelist on the work session “Planning Next Steps and Accessing
Resources” and a co-facilitator of the work session “Designing a SENCER Course.”
Jessica Slater is a science education analyst in the division of undergraduate education at the National
Science Foundation. At SSI 2010, she will co-present the workshop “Writing Good Proposals to Support
Scaling Up Your SENCER Work.”
Additional biographical information was unavailable at the time of publication.
Garon Smith is a professor of chemistry at the University of Montana. He received a bachelor’s of art in
environmental biology at the University of Colorado at Boulder and his PhD in applied chemistry from
the Colorado School of Mines. He has been a SENCER senior associate since a 2004 sabbatical spent at
the SENCER national headquarters and was named a SENCER Leadership Fellow. In that capacity he
works to help schools SENCERize courses by linking environmental and health issues with specific
disciplinary principles; and promotes SENCER poster sessions within the NCUR organization for which
students prepare two versions of their project – one for technical specialists in their disciplinary field and
one for a more general public audience. Under an NSF sub-award, in the guise of G. Wiz (Garon the
Wizard), he makes nearly a hundred school visits each year to promote interest in the STEM fields.
Garon has applied SENCER to his Introductory Chemistry Course for 900 students and to the
development of learning communities on environmental/health policy formulation for both freshman and
upper division science majors. He also helped build a consortium of high schools and two-year tribal
colleges throughout western Montana, northern Idaho and Alaska to perform air quality sampling and
relate it to public health statistics on asthma and cardiovascular disease. Garon’s research involves
environmental applications of mass spectrometry, 3-D fluorescence spectroscopy, toxics use reduction,
aqueous environmental chemistry and artificial neural networks. His professional activities include
serving as chair of his local Boards of Health, Air Pollution Control, and Water Quality; the
Boards' liaison to the Air Quality Advisory Council; the Missoula Transportation Planning Coordinating
Committee. He serves on the Board of Governors for the National Conference on Undergraduate
Research and was a repeat host for the NCUR organization’s 2010 conference in Missoula. Garon has
received a number of awards for his teaching and service including the 2008 U.S. Professor of the Year
for Montana from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for
Advancement and Support of Education, and the 2008 Distinguished Service Award from the Montana
Environmental Health Association.
At SSI 2010, Garon will present concurrent sessions on “Dramatic Demonstrations to Engage Science
Audiences,” “Adapting Large Lecture Formats to SENCERized Teaching and Civic Engagement,” and
“STEAM: Adding Arts to the STEAM Disciplines.” He will also be panelist on the work sessions “What
is Civic Engagement” and “Advanced Civic Engagement.”
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Gregory Smith is a biologist at the University of Akron in Akron, OH. He received a bachelor’s of
science in zoology from the University of Florida, a master’s of science in biological sciences from
Mississippi State University, and a PhD in zoology from the University of Oklahoma. Greg is a
conservation biologist and wildlife ecologist, studying ecology at the urban-rural interface.
Since 2008, Greg has been a member of the University of Akron SENCER team; a group that recently
received a grant from the NSF to establish a STEM learning community for incoming, non-declared
students. Greg is also a co-principal investigator on a GLISTEN grant that established a cluster built
around service-learning in northeast Ohio. This is Greg’s third SENCER Summer Institute.
At SSI 2010, Greg will co-present a concurrent session entitled “Field Reports: Transforming Science
Education at Madonna University AND SENCER in a First-Year Learning Community— Questions to
Ask Yourself.”
Ann Staton has been dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Texas Woman’s University since 2005.
After earning her PhD in communication from the University of Texas at Austin, she joined the
department of communication at the University of Washington in Seattle where she progressed through
the professorial ranks and served as professor and chair before moving back to her home state of Texas.
Her research and teaching interests are instructional communication, communication education, and the
rhetoric of educational reform. As dean of Arts and Sciences at the nation’s largest institution primarily
for women, she is committed to excellence in education, the ideals of a liberal education (including social
responsibility and civic engagement), and to bringing more women into science. She assembled the first
TWU SENCER team in 2006; she and a group of faculty from biology, chemistry and mathematics
attended their first SSI in 2007. Since then, the interdisciplinary team has expanded to include faculty in
business, and the SENCER efforts are well-established on the TWU campus. She has encouraged and
supported an array of SENCER activities, such as designing SENCER courses, attending SSI, giving
poster presentations at the Washington Symposium, organizing SENCER symposia at various scientific
meetings, and hosting SENCER speakers on the TWU campus for faculty and students across disciplines.
While serving as president of the Texas Association of Deans of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Staton
introduced her fellow deans to SENCER in a session at the annual meeting. Although not a scientist, she
is an ardent advocate of SENCER and proud to be co-director of SCI-Southwest.
At SSI 2010, Ann will be a panelist on the work session “Campus-Wide Implementation.”
Barbara Tewksbury is a SENCER Senior Fellow and professor of geosciences at Hamilton College,
where she holds the Upson Chair. She has spoken widely and published on geoscience education issues
and has played a leadership role in the national geoscience education community for many years. As a
distinguished speaker for the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) for seven years, she
has given dozens of workshops to faculty in departments across the country. She has been co-PI on a
number of grants to offer workshops for geoscience faculty, including the NAGT Cutting Edge
Workshops for Geoscience Faculty, NAGT workshops on Innovative and Effective Teaching in the
Geosciences, Course Design in the Geosciences, and Workshops for Early Career Faculty in the
Geosciences: Teaching, Research, and Managing Your Career. She is a past president of the American
Geological Institute, a past president of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, and served as
president of the Geology Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research for three years. She is a
fellow of the Geological Society of America and served as an elected member of the GSA Council. She
was a member of the NSF National Visiting Committee for the Massachusetts Collaborative for
Excellence in Teacher Preparation.
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In 1994, she received NSF funding to develop an interdisciplinary course entitled Geology and
Development of Modern Africa, which was one of the 2002 SENCER model courses. She was named
New York State Professor of the Year in 1997 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching, and she is the 2004 recipient of NAGT's Neil Miner Award for exceptional contributions to the
stimulation of interest in the Earth sciences. In 2006, she received an honorary doctor of science degree
from St. Lawrence University in recognition of her work in geoscience education.
At SSI 2010, Barbara will present the plenary session “Staying on the Cutting Edge.” She will also
present a concurrent session on “Integrating GIS into a SENCER Model Course: An Example from
Geology and Human Evens in North Africa and the Middle East,” and will be a panelist on the work
session “Pedagogy and Assessment.” She will lead a pre-Institute goal setting workshop for GLISTEN,
and offer an Institute workshop on “Setting Course Goals.”
Larry Tinnerman is an associate professor of curriculum studies at Indiana State University in the
department of curriculum, instruction and media technology. He currently teaches graduate courses in
Curriculum Foundations and Theory as well as Instruction of Educational Pedagogy for both middle and
secondary education majors. Larry received his master’s degree education from Edinboro University of
Pennsylvania and his doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Larry’s research interest involves the use of collaborate technologies in the classroom to support student
learning though a project based learning approach. He became involved in SENCER as a result of one of
the outreach sessions conducted at the university and is one of the first non-science faculty members to
SENCERize a course at Indiana State. This will be Larry’s first SENCER meeting.
At SSI 2010, Larry will co-present a session entitled “Field Reports: Large Scale SENCER Initiatives at
Indiana State University and the University of Dayton.”
Susan Toma is a professor of mathematics at Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan. She has a
bachelor’s of science in mathematics from Madonna University, a master’s of science in applied
industrial mathematics and a PhD in applied mathematical sciences from Oakland University in
Rochester, Michigan. Her dissertation topic and research interests include the integration of constraint
logic programming and integer programming in optimization applications. Susan regularly teaches
Calculus I, II and III, Probability and Statistics, Abstract Algebra and Introductory Real Analysis. She
has developed a Mathematics Summer Institute at Madonna University for exceptional high school
students that allows them to take advanced mathematics courses during the summer to earn university
credit. Moreover, she is the assistant director of the McGregor fund project that was awarded to the
College of Science and Mathematics at Madonna University. Susan is a member of the Mathematical
Association of America and she is interested in attending conferences and workshops about teaching
pedagogies and incorporating technology in the classroom.
At SSI 2010, Susan will co-present a session on “Field Reports: Transforming Science Education at
Madonna University AND SENCER in a First-Year Learning Community—Questions to Ask Yourself.”
Sally Wasileski is an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of North Carolina Asheville. She
received a bachelor’s of science degree with honors in chemistry from Juniata College in Huntingdon,
Pennsylvania and a PhD in analytical chemistry from Purdue University. Sally teaches courses in
Analytical Chemistry, Quantitative and Instrumental Analysis, and Instrument Design. Her research area
is in elucidating reaction mechanisms of molecules at catalytic and electro catalytic interfaces using
periodic density functional theory calculations, specifically in reactions that generate hydrogen from
biorenewable alcohols and polyols.
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In 2007, Sally developed a new introductory chemistry course for non-science majors by combining her
loves of chemistry and cooking. The Food of Chemistry is a fully integrated lecture and laboratory course
that incorporates chemistry content and experimentation with food and food-related issues. This course is
offered as a natural science option in UNC Asheville's multidisciplinary cluster Food for Thought, which
she coordinates. The Food for Thought cluster became a SENCER model in 2008.
At SSI 2010, Sally will present a session on “A SENCER National Model: The Food of Chemistry—
Improving Chemistry Literacy Through Food and Cooking” and will co-present a session on “Food for
Thought: Integrating Learning Across STEM and Non-STEM Disciplines Using Cross-Class Projects.”
Sandra L. Westmoreland is an assistant professor in the department of biology at Texas Woman’s
University (TWU) in Denton, Texas. She received a bachelor’s of science. in biology from The
University of Houston in Houston, Texas, master’s of science in biology and a PhD from the University
of Texas at Arlington. At TWU, Sandra teaches biology courses including Principles of Biology,
Scientific Communication, Science in the Classroom, and Scanning Electron Microscopy. She also directs
the TWU K-12 Science Teacher Education Program. Sandra’s bench research involves the use of
microscopy to study avian eggshell structural and physical characteristics. Recent projects include studies
of the effects of microgravity on calcium uptake from the avian eggshell, the effects of vaccines for
Mycoplasma gallisepticum on eggshells of laying hens, and the effects of dietary estrogen on eggshell
formation of zebra finches. One area of Sandra’s science education research currently focuses on the use
of scanning electron microscopy to allow science teachers to develop inquiry skills. Her membership in
professional societies includes the Microscopy Society of America, the Poultry Science Association, Phi
Sigma, the National Association of Science Teachers, the Association of Science Teacher Educators, the
National Association of Research in Science Teaching, and the Texas Society for Microscopy.
At SSI 2010, Sandra will present a concurrent session on “Field Report: SENCER and Science Teacher
Education – Preparing Science Teachers for the 21 st Century.”
Bonnie Williams is associate dean, University College, at the University of Akron (UA) in Ohio. She
received her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in education from UA. During her ten years as
assistant/associate dean, part of her responsibilities have included directorship of UA’s First-Year
Learning Communities Program, including faculty professional development, curricular design,
marketing/promotion, and program assessment.
Bonnie has taught within public and higher education for over thirty years; generated over $4 million in
in-service teachers’ professional development programs for UA’s College of Education, served as
principal investigator/co-principal investigator on grants totaling $433,000 including the following:
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards’ five-year, renewable teacher mentoring program
grant, Ohio Department of Education; Ohio Board of Regents’ Type I training grant; SENCER
Implementation Grant; and the National Science Foundation CCLI Phase II grant.
She has been selected as a SENCER Leadership Fellow, an eighteen-month appointment that began
December 1, 2009. As a Leadership Fellow, Bonnie intends to lead UA SENCER team members in
implementing SENCER into learning communities on two urban campuses and in an Early College
science course. She is also contributing to the development of a multi-disciplinary, civic issue project
involving faculty and departments from multiple colleges on UA’s campus.
At SSI 2010, Bonnie will co-present the concurrent session “Field Reports: Transforming Science
Education at Madonna University and SENCER in a First-Year Learning Community—Questions to Ask
Yourself.”
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Amy Wilstermann is an associate professor of biology at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. She
received her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Oakland University and her doctoral degree, also in
biochemistry, from Vanderbilt University where she studied biophysical interactions between
topoisomerase II and chemotherapeutic agents that target the enzyme. Amy continues to study
topoisomerase interactions and has recently begun investigate the relationships that exist between
bacterial infections, collagen degrading enzymes, and the premature rupture of fetal membranes. Prior to
taking her current position at Calvin, Amy taught at Trevecca Nazarene University (Nashville, TN) where
she served as the coordinator for the Department of Science and Mathematics and helped to develop an
interdisciplinary course entitled Issues in Science for the core curriculum. At Calvin, Amy serves on the
Biology Curriculum Committee and has participated in the department’s recent revision of the
introductory sequence of courses for majors. Amy regularly teaches introductory biology and
microbiology courses for pre-health students, and a newly developed first-semester SENCER course, The
Living World: Concepts and Connections, that serves both biology majors and non-major students.
At SSI 2010, Amy will co-present the concurrent session “Field Report: Teaching Biology Through
Societal Challenges—Lessons from a New Biology Course.”
Jason Wingert is an assistant professor of health and wellness at the University of North Carolina at
Asheville. He received his master's degree in physical therapy from the University of Missouri–Columbia
and his doctorate in movement science from Washington University in St. Louis. Jason worked as a
pediatric physical therapist before earning his doctorate. His clinical experiences fueled his research,
which quantified sensory deficits in young people with cerebral palsy and related those sensory changes
to specific central nervous system abnormalities using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In
2008, Jason was awarded the Young Investigator award by the Child Neurology Society. He is currently
expanding his earlier research by investigating the role that age-related somatosensory changes play in
increasing fall risk with age. He regularly teaches courses on anatomy, men's health, and pathophysiology
of chronic diseases. The latter course is part of a multidisciplinary cluster of courses called Food for
Thought, which investigates different aspects of food, food systems, and food culture and became a
SENCER model in 2008.
At SSI 2010, Jason will co-present a session on “Food for Thought: Integrating Learning Across STEM
and Non-STEM Disciplines Using Cross-Class Projects.”
Thomas Wood is associate professor at George Mason University where he coordinates conservation
studies in New Century College. He also coordinates the master’s program in zoo and aquarium
leadership and directs doctoral students studying conservation biology at the Smithsonian Institution. For
the past ten years, Tom has led development of a formal education and research program between George
Mason and the Smithsonian. He also serves as director of environmental studies at Airlie in Warrenton
Virginia. He has been instrumental in the development of many learning communities with natural history
and conservation-based themes in New Century College. The learning community, Mysteries of
Migration: Consequences for Conservation Policies, was co-developed with Dr. Elizabeth Gunn and
selected as a SENCER model course in 2001. Tom was the recipient of George Mason University’s
Teaching Excellence Award in 1999.
At SSI 2010, Thomas will present a session on “A SENCER National Model: Mysteries of Migration”
and serve as a panelist on the work session “Advanced Civic Engagement.” He will also co-facilitate
work sessions on “Developing a SENCER Course” and “Planning Next Steps and Accessing Resources.”
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Caralyn B. Zehnder is an assistant professor and the environmental science program coordinator at
Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, Georgia. She received her bachelor’s degree in
biology from Penn State University and then spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching math
and science in a village high school in Western Samoa. Caralyn earned her PhD in ecology from the
University of Georgia focusing on plant-insect interactions. For the past two years, Caralyn has been
teaching a variety of courses in the biological and environmental sciences department at GCSU including
environmental science, ecology, population and community ecology, biodiversity and a graduate-level
teaching techniques class. This fall, Caralyn is teaching an environmental science capstone course on
alternative energy which she developed in collaboration with a chemistry professor during a SENCERsponsored
workshop. Caralyn participated in this workshop during her first year at GCSU and now helps
mentor faculty interested in designing courses that include civic engagement. Additionally, this fall she
will be leading a SENCER post-institute implementation award funded workshop for biology graduate
students. Workshop participants will design new SENCERized labs for Introduction to Environmental
Science.
At SSI 2010, Caralyn will co-present the concurrent session “Creating SENCER Faculty Networks on
Your Campus.” She will also present a poster on “Teaching Biology Graduate Students to Develop
SENCERized Undergraduate Laboratory Activities.”
Ia (Mzia) Zhvania is a professor of functional neuroanatomy and cytology at Georgian Ilia State
University. Ia is also head researcher at Georgian I. Beritashvili Institute of Physiology. She received her
doctoral degree after finishing PhD courses at the Institute of Brain, Russian Academy of Medical
Science and her Science Doctor Degree at Georgian State University (specialty: cell biology). At the
Institute of Physiology, her scientific group investigates structural changes of different brain regions
provoked by different forms of epilepsy and addiction and also studies stress-induced molecular
alterations and the role of catecholamines in these alterations. Recently, Ia’s group has begun to develop
atomic force microscopic research of 3D architecture and mechanical properties of live neuron. For two
years, Ia, with two other Georgian scientists, coordinated SENCER Project in Georgia (SENCER-
Georgia). The project is now finished, but former coordinators created the Georgian SENCER Innovation
Center, with a special emphasis on science education according to SENCER philosophy. During the last
couple of years, in Georgia and Armenia, with financial support from SENCER, SENCER-Georgia and
the Sigma Xi Georgian Branch, the coordinators have organized different meetings, workshops, seminars
related with science promotion and promotion of the SENCER ideals. Ia is now developing a new science
education course with a focus on nanobiology/nanomedicine. This course will be offered to master
students of Ilia State University (specialty: molecular biology) beginning in September. At SSI 2010, Ia is
especially interested to learn more about how American professors teach such courses.
At SSI 2010, Ia will co-present the concurrent session “Field Reports: International SENCER Initiatives.”
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