College welcomes new STEM Dean Rebecca Krystyniak

Anoka-Ramsey Community College welcomes Rebecca Krystyniak (shown), as the Academic Dean for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

October 25, 2018

Anoka-Ramsey Community College is pleased to welcome a new Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Academic Dean, Rebecca Krystyniak.

Krystyniak holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Carthage College, a Master of Science degree in Analytical Chemistry and a PhD in Chemistry Education from University of Northern Colorado. She has also completed post-doctoral work at University of California, Berkeley.

Prior to Anoka-Ramsey, Krystyniak worked in higher education since 2003 serving as a Chemistry faculty member at St. Cloud State University (SCSU) including two years as the Chair of the Chemistry Department. She also championed the Teacher Preparation Initiative, the Ignite Center at SCSU, and served as director. During graduate school, Krystyniak taught chemistry at Aims Community College for four years, and then at California State University, Hayward (now California State University, East Bay).

“I am interested to see where student STEM interests overlap and in exploring interdisciplinary STEM programs, sustainability in STEM and growing the undergraduate research opportunities we offer to help students with the transition into STEM at a university level,” said Krystyniak. “We will be looking at how we bring together our individual academic efforts across the college to develop a more holistic approach to developmental education.”

Krystyniak is currently working on an initiative, entitled the North Metro Computing Educational Alliance (NMCEA), with SCSU to bring Computer Science bachelor degrees to the Cambridge and Coon Rapids campuses. The alliance would bring more engineering and computing pathways to area students. She looks forward to further growing opportunities for students in STEM through partnerships and scholarship.

For more information about the award-winning faculty at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, visit AnokaRamsey.edu