Meet Our Faculty
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Karla McCain, Ph.D.
VP for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty
Karla S. McCain earned her B.A. in chemistry from Ohio Wesleyan University and her Ph.D. in physical/analytical chemistry from the University of Utah.
In 2003, she joined the faculty of Austin College (TX), where she served as Professor of Chemistry and director of the interdisciplinary program in gender studies. Additionally, she held various administrative positions focusing on institutional effectiveness and student success.
She was an ACE Fellow for the 2019/20 academic year with a fall semester placement at Texas A&M University San Antonio. Dr. McCain was provost at Blackburn College and currently serves as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the faculty at Cottey College.
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At Austin College, Dr. McCain was a founding committee member and lead assessor of the Science Teaching and Research (STAR) Leadership Program, which integrates leadership training into the science curriculum to better prepare students for careers and citizenship. She has frequently led faculty development sessions and workshops on course design, student learning, and high impact practices. Dr. McCain has taught courses on analytical chemistry, women in science, science of sex and gender, and vocational exploration.
After many years mentoring undergraduate research in chemistry, her research interests now focus on women’s underrepresentation in science, a topic on which she has been a frequent invited speaker. She has published in areas including chemistry, science education, and gender studies.