Michelle McMullenMichele T. McMullen, M.S., M.A., R.D., L.N.

University Lecturer, Biological and Physical Sciences, CLASS

Michele McMullen guides her students through the constant flow of information about nutrition and biology that they encounter every day.  Her goal is to develop their critical thinking skills so they can make intelligent decisions long after they have left her classroom.  She offers a wonderful learning experience to every student that she comes in contact with and exerts an admirable amount of dedication to both her students and her work, earning her the Excellence Award for Non-Tenured Faculty.

“Michele brings an energy and enthusiasm to her courses that few can match,” her nominator says. “It seems she is rarely alone in her office during the semester, as students constantly stop by to not only talk about the course material, but also just to have a friendly chat.”  By being approachable and supportive, lasting relationships are created between her and her students.

Although her courses are rigorous, students are appreciative of her ability to make learning fun. Her exuberant delivery and passion for knowledge explains why her courses are consistently well-received by her pupils. McMullen began teaching nutrition for MSUB as an adjunct in the spring of 1997 and joined the faculty as a University Lecturer in the Fall of 2011.  Since then, McMullen has created several original courses for MSUB including a clinical nutrition course which drew upon her decade of work experience as a dietitian at both of the local hospitals.  Her tremendous commitment to improving this institution is evident in her latest offering, “Fundamentals of Biology: The Nature of Nutrition”, a new Life Science general education category offering aimed at sparking an appreciation for the living world.

Although not required, McMullen has gone above and beyond her faculty duties through collaborating with her colleagues in numerous scholarly and service activities.  In 2015, when colleagues needed assistance on a project investigating the relationship between colorectal cancer and intestinal flora, he turned to her for assistance on nutrition quantification methods. She participated in the 2016 Library Lecture Series alongside Dr. Matt Queen in an entertaining and informational presentation on culinary chemistry.

She is a member of the MSUB Women’s Faculty Caucus and presented “A Trip Down Food Guide Lane: A Retrospective” at their 2016 Scholarship Showcase. Since 2008, she has contributed her energy multiple times to the Science department’s Girls-n-Science (formerly Chicks in Science) station, and looks forward to assisting Dr. Sarah Friedman with this year’s dinosaur discovery activity.  She enjoys helping Dr. Steven Wiles and Dr. Stuart Snyder with their Exploring Space events, and finds it rewarding to mentor newer faculty members.

Her dedication, alongside her willingness to participate in scholarly and service activities, is what has led her to success at MSUB.