2024-25 TEACHING FELLOWS
Promoting use of the Center’s collections, the Teaching Fellows Program encourages the development of object-based curricular initiatives that support student engagement and retention by enriching learning experiences and adding depth to student understanding. This program was made possible thanks to the generous support of Dr. Henry Hooper.
Meet the Center of Southwest Studies teaching fellows for AY 2024-25!
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Marnie Clay, MS, RDN, is an Assistant Professor in Health and Human Performance at Fort Lewis College (FLC). With over two decades dedicated to nutrition and dietetics, she has made significant contributions to the development of FLC’s nutrition program. Ms. Clay is committed to fostering an inclusive learning environment. Her professional interests include clinical nutrition, lifelong health promotion, and culturally responsive healthcare practices. Ms. Clay is also deeply invested in addressing food security and enhancing nutrition education among college students. Her approach to nutrition is grounded in evidence-based practices, tailored to meet individual needs and goals. An alumna of Fort Lewis College, Ms. Clay earned her BS in Biochemistry here before pursuing her MS and Dietetic Internship at the University of Utah. Outside the classroom, she is an avid explorer of the Four Corners region’s natural beauty.
Marnie will be working to integrate Object-Based Learning into her HS 210 Nutrition and Culture course. This project involves using items from the Center’s collections to help students explore the intersection of food culture, nutrition, and health.
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Dr. Izzy Lamb is the newest faculty member of FLC's Chemistry and Biochemistry department. He is an experimental physical chemist with a background in various types of visible-light-based spectroscopies—that’s a fancy way of saying that he likes studying colorful, often glowing molecules. His lab’s research focuses on finding sustainable ways to use sunlight to drive industrially relevant chemical reactions, with an eye on reducing energy consumption in that field.
Izzy became fascinated with natural dyes when he visited Beau Chemin Preservation Farm in Waldoboro, Maine. One of the farmers (an analytical chemist in a previous life, in his own words) maintains a small dyestuff garden that includes weld, madder, indigo, and others. Inspired to learn more about both natural dyes and the traditional process of wool dyeing, Izzy and students in his analytical chemistry course engaged in a research project focused on natural dyes native to the region.
In fall 2023, Izzy piloted a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) in his CHEM 365 course, focusing on natural dye plants historically used in the area. Students attempted to identify dye molecules, quantify their presence, and replicate traditional dyeing techniques. Izzy aims to expand this project by having students replicate portions of dyed textiles from the Center’s collections. Students will look through traditional dyeing recipes to find a probable match and produce a dyebath and dyed textile, while conducting careful spectroscopic and electrochemical analysis of the various chemical constituents. At the end of this project, students will showcase their work in the Delaney Library.
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