About the series: On Main Hall Green With 鈥� is an opportunity to connect with faculty on things in and out of the classroom. We鈥檙e featuring a different 麻豆影院 faculty member each time 鈥� same questions, different answers.

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Beth De Stasio 鈥�83, the Raymond H. Herzog Professor of Science and professor of biology, has been a leader in the sciences since joining the 麻豆影院 faculty 30 years ago.

Most recently, she was part of the faculty group that led the planning for the new Science Learning Commons in Youngchild Hall. .

鈥淚t鈥檚 like flying an airplane up there,鈥� she said of teaching in the reimagined classroom. 鈥淭here are a lot of buttons to push. The technology is amazing.鈥�

De Stasio also played a lead role in recent efforts to . Debuting last fall, the minor allows students to explore the intersection of human health and global social inequities.

She also leads the pre-health advising team, working with students eyeing pre-med and pre-health programs when they graduate from 麻豆影院.

Nine years after her 1983 graduation from 麻豆影院, De Stasio returned to her alma mater and set about establishing a program in molecular biology.

In 2008, she and her husband, Bart De Stasio, the Dennis and Charlot Nelson Singleton Professor of Biological Sciences and professor of biology, co-taught at 麻豆影院鈥檚 London Centre. And she was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholar Fellowship in 2009 to conduct research at the Karolinska Institute near Stockholm, Sweden.

We caught up with De Stasio to talk about interests in and out of the classroom.

In the classroom

Inside info:聽What鈥檚 one thing you want every student coming into your classes to know about you?

That I care about their growth and development as whole human beings.

Getting energized:聽What work have you done or will you be doing at 麻豆影院 that gets you the most excited?

I鈥檓 always most excited about whatever I鈥檓 teaching at the moment.聽In Winter Term it was a new course that integrates career preparation and exploration with serious self-reflection for students who are thinking about any kind of career having to do with human health or health care provision.聽 It has been wonderful to partner with our fantastic alumni network and with Jacklyn John Fischer in the Career Center to provide students a unique opportunity to explore.聽I鈥檓 also teaching our Senior Experience course and it is so exciting to see the projects that students have designed for themselves and to see their growth over time.

Going places:聽Is there an example of somewhere your career has taken you (either a physical space or something more intellectual, emotional or spiritual) that took you by surprise?

I finally got to do an off-campus program when Bart and I co-taught at the London Centre.聽That was a mind-expanding experience.聽We taught there in the fall and then I had a Fulbright Fellowship to collaborate with a colleague in Sweden, so we lived in Stockholm for the rest of the year.聽It is always humbling to live and work in a new culture, even if it seems to be not that different from our own.

Out of the classroom

This or that:聽If you weren鈥檛 teaching for a living, what would you be doing?聽聽

Oh, gosh.聽I love teaching so much that whatever I did I鈥檓 sure it would have to have a teaching component to it.聽

Right at home:聽Whether for work, relaxation or reflection, what鈥檚 your favorite spot on campus?

Lately it has been the walking paths along the river.聽Since the pandemic, it has been a great place to walk and talk with advisees, colleagues, and friends. My next favorite space is the new Science Learning Commons, where I taught Introductory Biology last term. It is awesome, and it changes the classroom dynamic in very positive ways.

One book, one recording, one film:聽Name one of each that speaks to your soul? Or you would recommend to a friend? Or both?

This is a very difficult question. I鈥檓 going to call out two books of non-fiction that I鈥檝e used in my work:聽Harriet Washington鈥檚聽Medical Apartheid聽is an eye-opening look at the inhumane treatment of human subjects, particularly those from marginalized communities, by members of the medical establishment, including in the late 20th century.聽It is a must-read for anyone thinking about going into a medical career because we must learn to treat all human beings equitably with compassion and understanding of our shared humanity.聽Quiet聽by Susan Cain is an important look at introversion and how our society often doesn鈥檛 value the gifts more introverted people bring to our classrooms, teams, and families.

Recording: I鈥檓 going with any album of Herb Alpert.聽It鈥檚 what I turn on (loudly) when it鈥檚 time to clean the house.

Film: I鈥檓 really into聽Finding Your Roots聽with Henry Louis Gates Jr.聽Great mix of cultural history, genetics, and family histories.聽I know, it鈥檚 not a film, but you鈥檒l find it on PBS.聽How鈥檚 that for old school?

麻豆影院 University has introduced a new Health and Society minor that will explore the intersection of human health and global social inequities.

The program, drawing on faculty expertise from social, cultural, biological, and environmental fields across campus, will be available to students beginning in Fall Term. It can be paired with any major and will provide important preparation for students eyeing health- or social justice-related careers or graduate school programs, said Beth De Stasio, the Raymond H. Herzog Professor of Science and professor of biology.

The minor isn鈥檛 only about health care; rather, it鈥檚 focused on all of the complex issues that shape individual and population health.

鈥淚t brings together courses from across the humanities, social and natural sciences to give students a more holistic understanding of the origins of health, illness, and disability, including origins of the disparities in health and health outcomes we see in this country and across the globe,鈥� De Stasio said.

More on the Health and Society minor can be found here

Students pursuing the Health and Society minor will take classes across fields such as anthropology, ethnic studies, and philosophy. They will examine their own experiences working with vulnerable populations and explore career paths that empower them to make a difference in people鈥檚 lives.

The minor will include one course that places health in a global or community setting; two courses covering cultural and psychosocial aspects of health and illness or disability; two courses focused on the biological, biochemical, or environmental aspect of human health; one course that facilitates career exploration and self-reflection; and an option for 100 hours of engaged learning.

It will allow students the space to learn about the complexities and complications tied to health and the varied factors at play鈥攆rom privilege and discrimination to food systems and infrastructure.

The new minor represents a liberal arts approach to a complicated, important area of study, said Mark Jenike, associate professor of anthropology.

鈥淭hey often seek out and demand rich, complicated understandings of outcomes using tools from across the curriculum,鈥� he said of 麻豆影院 students. 鈥淭he Health and Society minor gives them an opportunity to do so specifically in the realm of health. We hope that the broader and deeper understanding of why health disparities exist, both locally and globally, that they gain from the minor will help to make them more empathetic, critical, and ultimately more effective health care providers in their chosen field.鈥�

One newly developed course brings it all together with a focus on career exploration tied to health. Alumni who are working in related fields will be integrated into the teaching of the course to share their wisdom and experiences with students, De Stasio said.

鈥淚t will allow students the time and intention to undertake exploration of the wide variety of career paths within the field of health care, as well as provide a facilitated discernment process in which their values and skills can be matched against various types of career paths,鈥� she said.

In addition to the classroom work, faculty will work with students in pursuit of internships, paid employment, or volunteer work related to health care delivery, health care policy, or related work with vulnerable populations.

鈥淚 think health-interested students will be drawn to the minor because it is distinctive,鈥� Jenike said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 the point of coming to 麻豆影院 in the first place, right?鈥�