Chemistry 332

Karla S. McCain earned her B.A. in chemistry in 1998 from Ohio Wesleyan University and her Ph.D. in physical/analytical chemistry in 2003 from the University of Utah. In 2003, she joined the faculty of Austin College (TX), was installed as the Rupert B. Lowe Endowed Chair of Chemistry in 2015, and promoted to professor of chemistry in 2016. As a faculty member in chemistry, Dr. McCain has worked extensively with undergraduate research students leading to two publications with undergraduate first authors. Many of her undergraduate research students have presented posters at regional and national meetings. She has mentored 45 research students of whom 53% were women and 27% were underrepresented minorities in science. In 2013, she was awarded a three year grant for $58,500 from the Discovery Foundation in Dallas, TX to support her research on applying infrared spectroscopy in interfacial systems. Dr. McCain has been an elected member of the governing board of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS) since 2010 and served from 2013-2014 on the executive committee as the membership chair. In 2013, Dr. McCain was appointed the Director of Accreditation and Assessment at Austin College and recently led the college’s effort to submit its Fifth Year Interim Report to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS COC). She is responsible for coordinating program level assessment and for designing and implementing general education assessment. She is on the steering committee and coordinates the assessment for the Science Teaching and Research (STAR) Leadership Program which works to integrate leadership training into the science curriculum to better prepare students for careers and citizenship. Dr. McCain has frequently led faculty development sessions and workshops at the college on assessment, student learning, and high impact practices. In 2014, Dr. McCain was appointed program director for the interdisciplinary program in Gender Studies after teaching and serving on the committee for the program since 2006. She has a strong interest in understanding why women are underrepresented in science and has regularly been invited to speak on the topic.