Kelly McConnaughay
Professor
Education
Ph.D., Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
M.S., Plant Biology, University of Illinois
B.S., Biology, University of Illinois
Biography
Dr. McConnaughay teaches courses in ecology, environmental science, and sustainability science. She has held several significant administrative positions during her time at Bradley, including chair of the biology department, Associate Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Interim Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and founding co-director of Bradley University’s Center for STEM Education. Dr. McConnaughay is an active advocate for research experiences for undergraduate students and for increasing the STEM literacy for learners of all ages and all disciplines. She has served on numerous external reviews of college and university biology/environmental science departments or programs. She is a frequent grant reviewer and panelist for the National Science Foundation. A long-time member on the Council on Undergraduate Research, she has served as Chair of the Biology Division, Secretary, and Editor-in-Chief of the CUR Quarterly.
Scholarship
Dr. McConnaughay’s research laboratory investigates plant physiological, growth and biomass allocation responses to environmental stresses, including natural and anthropogenic disturbances, invasive species, and global climate change. In addition to her ecological research, McConnaughay’s research interests include STEM education mand institutional change research. Her research and STEM Education capacity building efforts have been supported by $5.9 million in extramural funding from private, state and federal agencies including the National Science Foundation, and have resulting in 45 publications and over 260 presentations with nearly 100 unique student co-authors. She co-developed an extramurally funded multi-institutional research training program that teams faculty and senior researchers, graduate, undergraduate, high school student and K-12 educators as research collaborators. In honor of her research achievements, she was awarded Bradley’s prestigious Rothberg Professional Excellence Award for achievement in research.