STEM Symposium

Panel: Women in Science and Mathematics – informal discussion with questions and comments from the audience 

• Alice Deckert, Ph.D., professor of chemistry, chair of biochemistry program, Allegheny College, Meadville, PA
• Susan Loepp, Ph.D., professor and chair of mathematics, Williams College, Williamstown, MA
• Deborah J. Wiebe, Ph.D., professor of health psychology, University of California Merced, Merced, CA

Lecture, discussion — "Priming the Pipeline: Inclusive Pedagogies" by Alice Deckert 

Deckert received a B. S. in chemistry and a B.A. in mathematics from Bethel in 1984 and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Stanford in 1989. After teaching at Holy Cross College for seven years, she joined the faculty at Allegheny College, where she is the Paul and Mildred Hill Professor of Chemistry and the chair of the Biochemistry Program. Her research area is chemical kinetics, and she has mentored over 100 undergraduates in her lab, resulting in seven peer-reviewed publications with multiple student authors and 28 student presentations at national and regional chemistry conferences.  In addition to her laboratory research, Deckert is active in pedagogical reform efforts. She was involved in the “Guided-Inquiry” systemic reform NSF project while at Holy Cross and has continued her efforts at Allegheny College with five different grant funded projects. She is a member of the American Chemical Society and the Council on Undergraduate Research for which she served as an elected Chemistry Division Councilor from 2003-2006. Deckert is a member of the Bethel STEM Advisory Council.

Lecture, discussion — "What Hat Are You Wearing? An Introduction to The Hat Game” by Susan Loepp

Loepp received a B.A. in mathematics and a B.S. in physics from Bethel in 1989. She earned her Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin in 1994. After a two-year postdoctoral position at the University of Nebraska, she joined the faculty at Williams College, where she now holds the rank of Professor. Her research area is commutative algebra, and she loves advising undergraduate research in that field. To date, she has supervised the research of about 60 undergraduate students. Loepp often serves as a faculty advisor in the Williams College Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, which actively promotes involvement of students from underrepresented groups in mathematical research. She is a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society and a winner of the Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award, a national award for the teaching of college mathematics. She is also coauthor of the book, Protecting Information: From Classical Error Correction to Quantum Cryptography. Loepp is a member of the Committee on Women in Mathematics of the American Mathematical Society. She received the Young Alumna Award from Bethel College in 2007.

Refreshments, opportunities to meet the speakers, informal discussion

Reservations must be made in advance. Contact Dwight Krehbiel. Tickets are $15 per person. Deadline: Friday, September 29.

Lecture, discussion — "Social Relationships and Health: Help and Hindrance in Managing Chronic Illness" by Deborah Wiebe

Wiebe received her BA in psychology from Bethel in 1981, and went on to earn a PhD in Clinical Health Psychology, as well as a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1988. She joined the faculty in the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah, where she helped to develop a Health Psychology training program, and served as Graduate Director as well as Director of Clinical Training. In 2006, she joined the faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, with a secondary appointment in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). While there, Wiebe served as Director of Research at UT Southwestern and on the executive board of the UTD Center for Children and Families. Most recently, she joined the faculty in Psychological Sciences at the University of California, Merced in 2013, where she serves as head of the Health Psychology group. Wiebe’s research focuses on the social and developmental context of self-regulation and coping with chronic illness (e.g., how families work together to manage type 1 diabetes across adolescence). Her research has been continuously funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health since 2005. Her research contributions were recognized earlier this year when she received the Dennis Drotar Distinguished Research Award from the Society of Pediatric Psychology. Wiebe is a member of the Bethel STEM Advisory Council.

Coffee and other refreshments for STEM alumni, students and guests (psychology, biology, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, physics, natural sciences)