Sharon Crary

Academic Coordinator

Sharon Crary, Academic Coordinator at The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics and the Percy L. Julian Chair and Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is a biochemist whose research interests center on RNA-protein interactions in Ebola virus. She regularly teaches introductory chemistry and biochemistry courses as well as advanced biophysical chemistry. She has also taught a university studies course on international humanitarianism, and winter term courses on global health and science education and outreach. Sharon is the faculty advisor to two student organizations, the DePauw University chapters of Building Tomorrow and Timmy Global Health. It was her work with the Timmy group that led to her involvement with a winter term course centered on providing access to health care for vulnerable populations in the Amazon Basin of Ecuador in conjunction with Timmy Global Health.

Dr. Crary states, "I am a steadfast supporter of the need for a formal center for the study of ethics on our campus. Prior to the building of The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics, I was involved in an ethics initiative on our campus, because I see informed discussions of ethics to be integral to many of the aspects of a DePauw education with which I am most involved. As a teacher, I encourage my students to consider carefully the ethics of their roles as students, using exercises designed to explore their potential obligations to each other, to themselves, and to me. As a teacher of research, I see the importance to our students of a fact-based exploration of the efficacy of the standards for methods of research and the norms for publication in my field. As a faculty member interested in expanding our students global awareness through both course work and study abroad, I am particularly interested in providing avenues for our students to explore the ethical dimensions of international service activities

Crary has previously served on the Prindle Advisory Committee, has attended the Teaching Research Ethics conference at Indiana University, organized a faculty and staff reading group on "Teaching Global Social Justice", was a co-organizer for the Prindle-sponsored "Responsibility to Protect" Symposium, and have incorporated a number of case studies in scientific, research, and global health ethics into her courses. In the future, she is interested in exploring options for the Prindle Institute to continue to expand its position from a place solely for the study of ethics to a place where, perhaps in conjunction with other existing DePauw programs, students can explore and gather support for mechanisms of acting upon the various obligations they identify as of interest to members of our community.

Sharon lives just outside of Greencastle with her family.  Her husband, Pete, is an assistant track coach at DePauw.