海角乱伦专区

Members of the 海角乱伦专区 community gathered in the McGraw-Page Library鈥檚 Werner Pavilion on Friday, May 3 to celebrate the installation of Dr. Kristen Klaaren, Professor of Psychology, as the Macon and Joan Brock Professor in Psychology and Dr. John Thoburn, Professor of Chemistry, as the Garnett-Lambert Professor in Chemistry.

Professor Robert R. Lindgren welcomed attendees, including faculty, staff, alumni, and friends and family of Dr. Klaaren and Dr. Thoburn, and reflected on the vital impact relationships with faculty have on students at RMC.

鈥淥ur seniors are surveyed on what is most important, what is most special about being here. They particularly say it鈥檚 the powerful teaching and powerful mentorship that they get,鈥� Lindgren said. 鈥淵ou two are certainly wonderful examples of that.鈥�

Kristen Klaaren, Ph.D.

Dr. Klaaren earned her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, an M.A. from the University of Iowa, and a B.A. from Hope College. She joined the 海角乱伦专区 faculty in the fall of 1994.

Klaaren鈥檚 research has explored the psychology of prejudice, including a focus beyond perpetrator actions, to emphasize people鈥檚 cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions to prejudicial statements in social interaction. This work has captured the complexity of dynamic social interactions that are often catalysts for intergroup hostility. More recent research has assessed the effectiveness of peer education during short-term cross-cultural encounters and investigated the psychological impact of Confederate school names.

Klaaren鈥檚 courses tackle challenging topics in an environment of warmth, rapport, tolerance for diverse ideas, and deep student engagement. Her effectiveness has been recognized with the Thomas Branch Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1998 and 2000, and by the United Methodist Exemplary Teaching Award in 2017.

鈥淜risten is a model of a teacher-scholar blending a passion for excellence in teaching with scholarly interests in students鈥� personal and intellectual development,鈥� Rosenthal said. 鈥淎s she guides students towards greater understanding of their own unconscious social judgments, her deft and careful expertise leads her students to look more closely and to think more deeply about these concepts.鈥�

In her remarks, Dr. Klaaren expressed gratitude for the generosity of the Brock family in enabling the Department of Psychology to thrive, as well as for the opportunity to do meaningful work.

鈥淚 love social psychology, in part because I believe its framework can help illuminate social problems with potential to change people’s lives,鈥� Klaaren said.

She also thanked colleagues and family for their support throughout a career in which several of her undergraduate students are now professors and colleagues themselves.

鈥淚f I鈥檝e done anything to merit this honor, it鈥檚 because I鈥檝e been inspired by the great teachings, meaningful research, and the collaborative spirit of my mentors and colleagues,鈥� Dr. Klaaren said.

The Macon and Joan Brock Professorship in Psychology

The Macon and Joan Brock Professorship in Psychology was established in 2008 by Macon F. Brock, Jr., and Joan Perry Brock. It recognizes a senior member of the psychology department for exemplary teaching and scholarship.

Mr. Brock graduated from RMC in 1964 with a B.A. in Latin. He joined the Marine Corps and served in Vietnam before co-founding K and K Toys and, later, Dollar Tree, Inc. He served as CEO of Dollar Tree until 2004 and served on the RMC Board of Trustees from 1992-2009 and as Chairman from 1999-2009. Mrs. Brock earned her B.A. in secondary education from Longwood College and her M.A. in Humanities from ODU. Steadfast in her community work, Mrs. Brock has served as the Chair of the Chrysler Museum Board, the Virginia Wesleyan College Board of Trustees, and the ACCESS College Foundation. She has also served on the Sentara Board of Directors and as a member of the National Board of the United Way Women鈥檚 Leadership Council. The Brocks鈥� son, Macon F. Brock III 鈥�95, is a current member of the RMC Board of Trustees.

The Brocks have been RMC鈥檚 most generous benefactors, including an extraordinary bequest from Mr. Brock, who died in 2017, establishing the Brock Venture Fund, intended to fund innovative ideas aimed at growing enrollment at the College.

John Thoburn, Ph.D.

Thoburn earned his Ph.D. and M.S. from the University of California San Diego and a B.S. from Haverford College, where he majored in chemistry and German. He joined the 海角乱伦专区 faculty in the fall of 2003.

Thoburn is an expert in the field of physical-organic chemistry with multiple publications in high-impact, peer-reviewed chemistry journals, including Journal of the American Chemical Society and Angewandte Chemie.

Thoburn is among RMC鈥檚 most versatile faculty, having taught more than a dozen different chemistry courses as well as English folk dancing and juggling. His teaching has been recognized with the Thomas Branch Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2015 and 2017, and he has supervised more than 35 undergraduate researchers during his time at RMC. In 2020, his outstanding service was recognized with the Samuel Nelson Gray Distinguished Professor Award for distinguished contributions to the College.

鈥淭he College鈥檚 only organic chemist, John has taught nearly every chemistry major or pre-health student who has made their way through RMC since his arrival,鈥� Provost Rosenthal said, noting that Thoburn expertly and compassionately guides students through organic chemistry, a notoriously difficult course. 鈥淪tudents highlight his ability to make difficult concepts less opaque, his contagious enthusiasm for the material, his commitment to continuous improvement for himself and for them, and his unfailing support and kindness.鈥�

Thoburn recognized each of his colleagues in the chemistry department for the myriad ways they collaborate in service of teaching RMC鈥檚 students.

鈥淓very semester is a journey, and sometimes I feel like a big, lumbering ocean-going vessel exploring the high seas of higher education,鈥� Dr. Thoburn said. 鈥淚 am powered by my students and my institution.鈥�

In appropriate fashion, Dr. Thoburn used a chemistry demonstration as another metaphor for the 海角乱伦专区 experience. A flask represented the buildings and educational environment of the college, and a powder represented the students. Without heat, the powder sat unchanged, but with the application of a torch鈥攐r the inspiration from a dedicated faculty member鈥攊t broke into flame.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not enough to give students a place to work and give them great ideas,鈥� Dr. Thoburn said. 鈥淲e need to set them on fire.鈥�

The Garnett-Lambert Professorship in Chemistry

The Garnett-Lambert Professorship in Chemistry rewards excellence in the teaching and research of chemistry. As a student, Jordan Wheat Lambert, a member of the class of 1871, helped raise the funds to erect Washington-Franklin Hall, the first brick structure on campus. Lambert went on to market Listerine antiseptic to the nation. In 1925, he made a gift to endow a fund to benefit the Chemistry Department. In 2009, to establish a formal focus for this gift, the Board of Trustees voted to combine with it a second fund, the Garnett Endowment for Chemistry, given through the estates of Dorothy and Muscoe Garnett 鈥�30, to create the Garnett-Lambert Professorship in Chemistry.