{"id":5828,"date":"2017-01-31T14:56:56","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T22:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/impact\/?p=5828"},"modified":"2017-11-29T12:22:13","modified_gmt":"2017-11-29T20:22:13","slug":"new-associate-dean-lead-student-success-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/impact\/2017\/01\/new-associate-dean-lead-student-success-science\/","title":{"rendered":"New associate dean to lead student success in science"},"content":{"rendered":"

The College of Science welcomes Staci Simonich<\/a> as Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, effective February 1, 2017. Simonich is a professor with joint appointments in the College of Science\u2019s Department of Chemistry and the College of Agricultural Sciences\u2019 Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Staci Simonich,professor of chemistry and of environmental and molecular toxicology<\/p><\/div>\n

She replaces Julie Greenwood who is now Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies at OSU\u2019s Division of Undergraduate Studies, and mathematics instructor Lyn Riverstone, who served as interim Assistant Dean in the College for the past five months.<\/p>\n

Simonich will serve as an integral part of the College\u2019s Executive Leadership Team to advance the mission of the College. As a champion of student success, she will help identify and implement strategies to improve the academic, recruitment, retention, and co-curricular programs within the College. She will also support the College\u2019s commitment to diversity and inclusion by enhancing our partnerships with LSAMP<\/a>, SACNAS<\/a>, STEM Leaders Program<\/a>, the College\u2019s Student Advisory Committee and OSU\u2019s cultural centers.<\/p>\n

Simonich will be responsible for developing strategies for implementing the strategic plan of the College to improve undergraduate student success and equalization by closing gaps in degree completion for Pell-eligible, first generation, and underrepresented students in the College.<\/p>\n

An environmental chemist, Simonich brings an impressive and well-rounded portfolio with research, teaching and industry experiences. She joined OSU\u2019s faculty in 2001 after working in industry within Procter & Gamble\u2019s consumer product division. At OSU, Simonich has served as a mentor to undergraduate students conducting research, and as a dissertation advisor and mentor to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. In terms of leadership preparation, Simonich participated in OSU\u2019s ADVANCE program and LEAD 21- Leadership for the 21st<\/sup> Century for Land Grant Universities. She also served in an administrative role as Associate Department Head in the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am thrilled to welcome Dr. Simonich to the College\u2019s executive leadership team. She has always been a strong supporter for students both in our College and at OSU for many years,\u201d said Sastry G. Pantula, dean of the College of Science.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cShe also has an extraordinary record of accomplishment as a scientist, a teacher, a mentor and a national and global leader,\u201d adds Pantula. \u201cI am particularly excited about her commitment to enhancing diversity and student success, which are both close to my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simonich\u2019s research has been published in\u00a0Science<\/em>,\u00a0Nature<\/em>,\u00a0Environmental Health Perspectives<\/em>,\u00a0Environmental Science & Technology<\/em>,\u00a0Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry<\/em>, and the\u00a0Journal of Geophysical Research.<\/em><\/p>\n

This month, Simonich teamed up with researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to publish a study<\/a> revealing that toxic particles in the atmosphere are linked to lung cancer risk at a much higher rate than assumed. The findings, which were published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/em>, showed that tiny floating particles can grow semi-solid around pollutants, allowing them to last longer and travel much farther than what previous global climate models predicted. Scientists said the new estimates more closely match actual measurements of the pollutants taken in more than 300 urban and rural settings\u2014and the global lung cancer risk is double the allowable limit recommended by the World Health Organization.<\/p>\n

Simonich\u2019s lab comprises students from across chemistry, toxicology and environmental engineering whose research is focused on novel and improved analytical methods and techniques for studying the fate of semi-volatile organic contaminants in the atmosphere, aquatic, and terrestrial compartments.<\/p>\n

The team examines how these compounds move throughout\u00a0the environment and transform during the application of various remediation technologies.\u00a0They also investigate\u00a0what implications the newly formed transformation products may present to the environment and its inhabitants.<\/p>\n

Simonich\u2019s research is supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Environmental Health Services, and the NIH Superfund Research Program, among others. Last summer, the National Institute of Health named\u00a0Simonich\u2019s study<\/a> on how coal-tar based sealcoats on driveways and parking lots are far more toxic than previously suspected as one of its Papers of the Month.<\/p>\n

Simonich was a member of the National Academies\u2019 Committee on \u201cThe Significance of International Transport of Air Pollutants\u201d and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution. Currently, she is the Associate Editor for the American Chemical Society journal, Environmental Science & Technology Letters<\/em>.<\/p>\n

An exceptional teacher, Simonich has taught and mentored dozens of undergraduate and graduate students at OSU for more than 15 years. She has also developed courses, including \u201cAdventures in Collaboration & Team Science (or Scientists are People, Too!);\u201d \u201cEnvironmental Transformations of Organic Compounds,\u201d a short course for international teaching in places such as Peking University in China; and a new graduate-level chemistry course.<\/p>\n

In 2013, Simonich distinguished herself with OSU\u2019s Impact Award for Scholarship and in 2015 with the Excellence in Graduate Mentoring Award.<\/p>\n

Simonich has received other honors. In 2001, she received the Roy F. Weston Environmental Chemistry Award by Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry for early to mid-career scientists who have accomplished and published outstanding contributions that have advanced the understanding or development of environmental systems, technologies, methodologies or other relevant research in the environmental sciences.<\/p>\n

In 2003, she received an NSF Career Award, the most prestigious award given to junior faculty members for outstanding and innovative research and the effective application of that research in university teaching and education.<\/p>\n

She earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and her Ph.D. in chemistry from Indiana University.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The College of Science welcomes environmental chemist Staci Simonich as Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, effective February 1, 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