Department News

Chemistry Welcomes Dr. Courtney Stanford

June 11, 2021

stanford_courtney_web.jpgCourtney Stanford, Assistant Professor of Teaching, will officially join the UR Department of Chemistry faculty as of July 1, 2021. Dr. Stanford is joining us from Ball State University where she was developing inquiry general chemistry labs that focus on engagement, inclusivity, and real world connections. She will be continuing this work at the University of Rochester in her new role teaching general chemistry laboratory to science and engineering students.  

Dr. Stanford earned a B.S. in Chemistry in 2010 from Rochester Institute of Technology. She then received a M.S. in Chemistry from University of Connecticut working under Dr. Michael Smith. Here she studied the synthesis of half-loaded nitroimidazole indocyanine green dyes attached to carbon nanotubes. From there she went on to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry under Dr. Renee Cole at the University of Iowa. Here her research focused on using discourse analysis to investigate the influence of instructor facilitation strategies and course materials on student argumentation and conceptual understanding in POGIL physical chemistry classrooms. In addition, her work focused on how to increase the impact and adoption of educational innovations in STEM. Afterwards, Dr. Courtney Stanford moved to Virginia Commonwealth University working under Dr. Suzanne Ruder as a postdoctoral scholar where she examined how instructors could incorporate and assess professional skill in STEM classrooms. 


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