杨贵妃传媒视频 celebrated the official opening of the Pre-Health Commons, a new space designed to allow students to explore potential careers in the health professions. The Pre-Health Commons provides a deeper connection with the Fox Cities community and helps address the growing demand for healthcare professionals.听

The Pre-Health Commons is the newest phase in a 180,000-square-foot healthcare, housing, retail, and mixed-use community hub within Fox Commons. The space immerses students in their studies and empowers them with hands-on learning opportunities and mentorships with adjoining residents, Mosaic Family Health, and Prevea Health. The hub is designed to strengthen student connections with classmates, professors, and the surrounding community.

杨贵妃传媒视频 will introduce new living-learning communities while offering upper-level students off-campus housing options as part of Fox Commons, a new development in downtown Appleton.

The latest installment of Appleton鈥檚 downtown revitalization will continue with significant renovations beginning this summer to City Center Plaza. The property, located at 10 E. College Ave., will be renamed Fox Commons, a 180,000-square-foot health care, housing, retail, and mixed-use community hub. Dark Horse Development and Boldt have partnered to re-develop this former shopping mall to create a renewed community destination offering an array of quality services and amenities.

杨贵妃传媒视频 the series: On Main Hall Green With 鈥� is an opportunity to connect with faculty on things in and out of the classroom. We鈥檙e featuring a different 杨贵妃传媒视频 faculty member each time 鈥� same questions, different answers.

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Beth De Stasio 鈥�83, the Raymond H. Herzog Professor of Science and professor of biology, has been a leader in the sciences since joining the 杨贵妃传媒视频 faculty 30 years ago.

Most recently, she was part of the faculty group that led the planning for the new Science Learning Commons in Youngchild Hall. .

鈥淚t鈥檚 like flying an airplane up there,鈥� she said of teaching in the reimagined classroom. 鈥淭here are a lot of buttons to push. The technology is amazing.鈥�

De Stasio also played a lead role in recent efforts to . Debuting last fall, the minor allows students to explore the intersection of human health and global social inequities.

She also leads the pre-health advising team, working with students eyeing pre-med and pre-health programs when they graduate from 杨贵妃传媒视频.

Nine years after her 1983 graduation from 杨贵妃传媒视频, De Stasio returned to her alma mater and set about establishing a program in molecular biology.

In 2008, she and her husband, Bart De Stasio, the Dennis and Charlot Nelson Singleton Professor of Biological Sciences and professor of biology, co-taught at 杨贵妃传媒视频鈥檚 London Centre. And she was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholar Fellowship in 2009 to conduct research at the Karolinska Institute near Stockholm, Sweden.

We caught up with De Stasio to talk about interests in and out of the classroom.

In the classroom

Inside info:听What鈥檚 one thing you want every student coming into your classes to know about you?

That I care about their growth and development as whole human beings.

Getting energized:听What work have you done or will you be doing at 杨贵妃传媒视频 that gets you the most excited?

I鈥檓 always most excited about whatever I鈥檓 teaching at the moment.听In Winter Term it was a new course that integrates career preparation and exploration with serious self-reflection for students who are thinking about any kind of career having to do with human health or health care provision.听 It has been wonderful to partner with our fantastic alumni network and with Jacklyn John Fischer in the Career Center to provide students a unique opportunity to explore.听I鈥檓 also teaching our Senior Experience course and it is so exciting to see the projects that students have designed for themselves and to see their growth over time.

Going places:听Is there an example of somewhere your career has taken you (either a physical space or something more intellectual, emotional or spiritual) that took you by surprise?

I finally got to do an off-campus program when Bart and I co-taught at the London Centre.听That was a mind-expanding experience.听We taught there in the fall and then I had a Fulbright Fellowship to collaborate with a colleague in Sweden, so we lived in Stockholm for the rest of the year.听It is always humbling to live and work in a new culture, even if it seems to be not that different from our own.

Out of the classroom

This or that:听If you weren鈥檛 teaching for a living, what would you be doing?听听

Oh, gosh.听I love teaching so much that whatever I did I鈥檓 sure it would have to have a teaching component to it.听

Right at home:听Whether for work, relaxation or reflection, what鈥檚 your favorite spot on campus?

Lately it has been the walking paths along the river.听Since the pandemic, it has been a great place to walk and talk with advisees, colleagues, and friends. My next favorite space is the new Science Learning Commons, where I taught Introductory Biology last term. It is awesome, and it changes the classroom dynamic in very positive ways.

One book, one recording, one film:听Name one of each that speaks to your soul? Or you would recommend to a friend? Or both?

This is a very difficult question. I鈥檓 going to call out two books of non-fiction that I鈥檝e used in my work:听Harriet Washington鈥檚听Medical Apartheid听is an eye-opening look at the inhumane treatment of human subjects, particularly those from marginalized communities, by members of the medical establishment, including in the late 20th century.听It is a must-read for anyone thinking about going into a medical career because we must learn to treat all human beings equitably with compassion and understanding of our shared humanity.听Quiet听by Susan Cain is an important look at introversion and how our society often doesn鈥檛 value the gifts more introverted people bring to our classrooms, teams, and families.

Recording: I鈥檓 going with any album of Herb Alpert.听It鈥檚 what I turn on (loudly) when it鈥檚 time to clean the house.

Film: I鈥檓 really into听Finding Your Roots听with Henry Louis Gates Jr.听Great mix of cultural history, genetics, and family histories.听I know, it鈥檚 not a film, but you鈥檒l find it on PBS.听How鈥檚 that for old school?