A Swarthmore College professor, researcher and former department chair is being remembered for creating science education programs for younger students and for mentoring college students and faculty.

Elizabeth A. Vallen died April 10 at age 59, writes Gary Miles for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“She challenged and supported [students] so that they achieved more than they imagined,” a colleague said.

Dr. Vallen came to Swarthmore College in 1995 as an assistant professor of cell biology. She became a two-time chair of the biology department and the college’s Howard A. Schneiderman professor of biology in 2019.

She taught introductory courses and honors classes on cell and molecular biology.

The first-generation college graduate and mother of two empathized with students about their personal and academic challenges.

She gave students opportunities to perfect their presentations and held office hours at their convenience.

“She could quickly recognize for another person what might be frightening, thrilling, or ridiculous in their circumstance, and used her insight to help them in ways that were creative, effective, and very often fun,” said Rachel Merz, biology professor emerita at Swarthmore.

In the last decade, Dr. Vallen became an authority on marine environment and climate change as she refocused her research on the cell biology of corals, sea anemones, and photosynthetic algae.

Read more about the life of Dr. Elizabeth Vallen in The Philadelphia Inquirer.