Kristin C. Burkholder
Associate Dean of the May School of Arts and Sciences, Associate Professor of Environmental Science, Faculty Athletic Representative
Biography
Associate Dean of the Thomas and Donna May School of Arts & Sciences Kristin Burkholder helps manage the academic operations of the May School, supporting faculty, coordinating academic processes and advancing initiatives that enhance the student experience. Since joining the Stonehill community in 2012, Burkholder has contributed to the institution as a teacher-scholar, department chair, faculty leader and academic administrator.
A physical oceanographer by training, Burkholder focuses her research on understanding how global environmental change is influencing ocean circulation and marine ecosystems, particularly within the Gulf of Maine, Stonehill's “oceanic backyard.” In the classroom, she contributes to the Environmental Science and Studies curriculum, regularly teaching Introduction to Oceanography, Climate Science and Physical Geology.
Burkholder previously served as chair of the Environmental Science & Studies Department from 2019 to 2025. She has also held several leadership roles that have contributed to academic governance and institutional advancement. She served on the Faculty Senate from 2021 to 2025, the Rank and Tenure Committee from 2024 to 2025 and the General Education Committee from 2016 to 2021. In 2023, she was appointed Faculty Athletics Representative, serving as a liaison between the College's academic and athletic programs. She also serves as faculty liaison for the Women’s Ice Hockey program.
Beyond Stonehill, Burkholder is actively engaged with MPOWIR (Mentoring Physical Oceanography Women to Increase Retention), a nationally recognized program dedicated to advancing and retaining women in physical oceanography. She is also a graduate of the HERS Leadership Institute.
Education
- Ph.D., Physical Oceanography, Duke University
- B.S., Chemistry, Bucknell University
Courses Taught
- Introduction to Oceanography
- Climate Science
- Physical Geology
- Principles of Environmental Science
- Research Methods in Environmental Science
- The Ethics and Science of Climate Change
Selected Publications & Grants
- Burkholder, K., Lee, J., Kime, M.*, Calabro, C.* and J. Manning (2024), Decadal-Scale Variability in the Gulf of Maine Coastal Current: The Impact of Changing Climate Conditions on Coastal Circulation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 129, e2023JC020512, doi: 10.1029/2023JC020512
- Hirst, R., Wai-Ling Packard, R., Liotta, L., Bleakley, B., Lombardi, P. and K. Burkholder (2021), Faculty Learning at the Individual and Group Level: A Multi-Year Analysis of an Interdisciplinary Science FLC Focused on Inclusive Teaching and Mentoring, J. Coll. Sci. Teach., 50(6).
- Burkholder, K.C., Devereaux, J.*, Grady, C.*, Solitro, M.* and S. Mooney (2017), Longitudinal Study of the Impacts of a Climate Change Curriculum on Undergraduate Student Learning: Initial Results, Sustainability, 9(913), doi: 10.3390/su9060913
- Burkholder, K. C. and M. S. Lozier (2014), Tracing pathways of the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation’s upper limb, Geophysical Research Letters, 41(12), 4254-4260, doi: 10.1002/2014GL060226.
- Burkholder, K. C. and M. S. Lozier (2011), Subtropical to subpolar pathways in the North Atlantic: Deductions from Lagrangian trajectories, J. Geophys. Res., 116, C07017, doi:10.1029/2010JC006697.
- Burkholder, K. C. and M. S. Lozier (2011), Mid-depth Lagrangian pathways in the North Atlantic and their impact on the salinity of the eastern subpolar gyre. Deep Sea Research I, doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2011.08.007.
- 2023-present National Sea Grant Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions: Special Projects “H”: Massachusetts Marine Debris from Source to Stellwagen, co-Principal Investigator. $286,284.
- 2022-present Maine Sea Grant Program Development Award: Student-Built, Satellite-Tracked, Fishermen-Deployed Drifters: A Relaunch, Principal Investigator. $5,000.
- 2018-2020 Maine Sea Grant Program Development Award: A Lagrangian Study of the Subsurface Pathways in the Gulf of Maine Using a High-Resolution Model of Ocean Circulation, Principal Investigator. $5,000.
- 2017-2023 National Science Foundation (NSF), Strand 2: S-STEM: Design and Dev- Type 1; Overcoming the Challenges to the Science Education of a Liberal Arts College for Economically Disadvantaged Students, Co-Investigator. $999,999.
- 2019 Northeast Cyberteam, Selected Project, Tracing Oceanic Pathways Using High Resolution Model Output