Life is a journey, not a destination
Unbreakable Bonds
Generations of Chemistry Students Learn from Stump's Guidance
By Amy Pavlak Laird
Media Inquiries- Interim Director of Communications, MCS
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The room was packed with students attending a wellness workshop on ways to deal with stress. Angie Lusk from Carnegie Mellon University’s Division of Student Affairs led the discussion.
“What do you do in times of real challenge?” she asked.
A voice called out: “You go to Karen Stump's office!”
It’s good advice — just ask any of the many, many students who know the highly regarded teacher, mentor and advisor.
For the past four decades Stump, a teaching professor and director of undergraduate programs in the Department of Chemistry, has advised hundreds of chemistry majors and taught thousands of students, including chemistry, biology, engineering and pre-health students. As she heads into retirement, there’s no doubt that she has made a lasting impact.
“I would want everyone to have an advisor experience like I had with Karen,” said Chemistry alumna Erin Gantz, who graduated in 2010. “There is just something about her. She cares deeply about how you’re doing as a person. You would go and meet with her, and it would seem like she had all the time in the world for you.”
Stump, who graduated from Carnegie Mellon in 1981, returned to the Department of Chemistry in 1983 as a laboratory instructor after spending a few years teaching at Washington and Jefferson College. At the time, there were no women in the department and a faculty teaching-track wasn’t yet an option. But Stump loved teaching, meeting and talking with students, so she chartered her own path.
“Looking back, I was creating a career, but I didn’t realize at the time that was what I was doing,” Stump said. “I would look at things that needed to be done, and I would just kind of start doing them. You’re only limited by your own creativity and energy.”
Stump has had plenty of both. In addition to teaching and advising, she started a teaching assistant training program, and she brought order to the undergraduate labs by organizing equipment, keeping a detailed inventory and leading staff meetings. This led to the creation of a new position — director of laboratories — for Stump. When it became clear that the labs needed renovating in the late 1990s, Stump rolled up her sleeves and got to work, collaborating closely with the architects designing the new space. The 10-year project was completed in 2003.
“It was quite an undertaking, to even think about building a lab that you know will not be rebuilt for literally decades and to think about what students will need in order to be successful for things you can’t even imagine.”
"Post-retirement email updates are still most welcome. Email will stay the same!"
— Karen Stump
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She also was responsible for administrative oversight of the undergraduate program in chemistry, led educational outreach activities, and has been deeply involved in curriculum development for chemistry and the Mellon College of Science.
For her efforts, Stump has won three university-level awards: the 2017 Teaching Innovation Award, the 2011 Award for Outstanding Contributions to Academic Advising and Mentoring and the 2005 William H. and Frances S. Ryan Award for Meritorious Teaching. She also is the 2024 recipient of the Richard Moore Education Award in the Mellon College of Science.
The mother of three and grandmother of two has juggled a lot over the years, and it’s that experience — along with a detailed knowledge of the ins and out of what’s required to earn a chemistry degree — that has made her so valuable as an advisor.
“I’ve had students who come to see me pretty regularly for what they call their life-crisis talks. Sometimes it’s personal, and sometimes it’s academic. I’ve had students say: this is going to be a long one because I just need to talk out some stuff, and you’re the person I do that with, so I need you to solve my life today.”
Her overarching advice? Life is a journey, not a destination. Stump said she has lived that philosophy, and she spends a lot of time trying to convince students to live their lives a bit more that way.
Stump has been easing into retirement as she shepherds one last group of advisees through to graduation. She’s looking forward to spending more time with her family, including going to the movies with her husband and taking the dogs to pick up the grandkids at the bus stop. But it’s a bittersweet time for Stump, as she also has her extended family — her students — to think about.
“I think I get through it simply because — and I always say this at graduation — that I expect that we'll keep in touch. You'll let me know when you can how you're doing. And a lot of them do,” Stump said. “I'm just so amazed at the types of things they’re doing. I’m really proud of them.”