With Board of Regents approval on March 24, Dr. Brenda Linnell was granted tenure, which gives her position at Northern New Mexico College a permanent status and changes her title from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Chemistry. Dr. Ulises Ricoy, Chair of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science, recruited Dr. Linnell to teach chemistry at Northern in 2011.
“She’s a team player who is very active in student advisement,” Dr. Ricoy told the Board of Regents during the open meeting last Thursday in support of Dr. Linnell’s tenure. “She lives in Española with her family, and she is dedicated to this region and her students.”
Dr. Linnell teaches General Chemistry I and II, Organic Chemistry I and II, Integrated Organic and Biochemistry, Undergraduate Research Experience in Chemistry, and selected topics courses such as Analytical Chemistry.
When asked what she especially enjoys about teaching chemistry at Northern, Dr. Linnell said, “You can get to know all of your students’ names, their strengths and career goals, and try to help them accomplish them.”
Dr. Linnell’s track record at Northern makes it clear that she is invested in the success of her students. She has helped some go on to pursue graduate degrees, others she has encouraged to finish their undergraduate studies and helped them to find stable, rewarding jobs. In addition to helping her students, Dr. Linnell has also had the opportunity to advise students from a variety of majors through her service as faculty advisor to the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Student Association on campus.
Dr. Linnell also participates actively in the Friday Academy program and STEM Academy project, which serves local middle and high school students.
“I think I plant the seed for future scientist is some of them,” said Dr. Linnell. “And, for the rest, I want them to see chemistry as something they are already doing, something familiar and not so far out of reach.”
Photo: Dr. Brenda Linnell teaching a chemistry lab on March 23, 2016. (Courtesty John T. Denne)
Tagged: Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science
