Westfield State University is pleased to welcome Dr. Lamis Jarvinen as its new director for the Center of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (CURCA). Dr. Jarvinen earned a B.S. in biology from the University of Michigan, a M.S. from Purdue University, a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College, and has conducted post-doctoral research for four years at the University of Michigan Medical Center.
Dr. Jarvinen has taught for several years at Bridgewater State University, Mount Holyoke College, and Bay Path College. She has been a faculty researcher and consultant for an NSF-IUSE Grant at Bay Path College for the last three years, focused on improving academic success, engagement and retention in STEM among low-income, minority, and first-generation women. She is also the founder and director of Partners in Scientific Inquiry, working on community-based resources to enrich science education in and out of the classroom.