Dr. Stacey Zaremba is a professor of psychology at Moravian College. She received her B.A. from the College of Staten Island and her M.A. and Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Fordham University in New York. 

What inspired you to go into your field of study? 

An undergraduate psychology professor inspired me. I took every class he taught and worked in his lab during my junior and senior years at CUNY (The City University of New York). The focus of our research was errorless learning in pigeons. Ultimately, the fact that the pigeons and the other animals in the lab were all male led me to investigate the behavior of female animals in graduate school. 

What research are you currently working on? 

Children develop racist and sexist attitudes and stereotypes at a young age. I have developed an intervention program (Reading Circles) that is designed to reduce stereotypes and prejudice in children using multicultural children’s literature. This intervention program has been implemented at several local elementary schools as well as the Boys & Girls Club of Bethlehem. 

What do you think is the most recent important development in your field of study? 

Intersectionality makes plain that gender, race, class and sexuality can simultaneously affect our perceptions and behavior. The development of the term ‘intersectionality’ has had a significant impact on the discipline of psychology.  We must address these dimensions in combination to fully understand any one of these.

What job would you have if you couldn’t be a professor, regardless of salary and job outcome? Why?  

A gardener, café owner, non-profit work, and/or stained glass artist.

What do you know now that you wished you knew when you were in college? 

I was a commuter in college and retrospectively, I wish I had the experience of living on campus. I got some of that experience in graduate school, but it was still a different experience than it would have been as an undergraduate.

What is your biggest student pet peeve? 

Two of my pet peeves are students not reading assignments before class and having students ask if they missed anything after missing a class. 

What was the last streaming show that you binge-watched or the last good book that you read?  

The last show I streamed was “Flaked” on Netflix.  I am currently reading “Me and White Supremacy” by Layla Saad for a book group I am in. I am also reading “Wabi Sabi” by Beth Kempton.

What is something interesting about you that most people don’t know?  

I have a small stained glass business called Glass Goddess (Instagram: @GlassgoddessAF). I learned stained glass from a friend while in graduate school. Not sure how I would have survived Covid without my glass.

What animal do you feel you identify with? Why? 

I have always gravitated to turtles. Not sure why.

Given that it’s Women’s History Month, who are some women who have inspired you throughout your life?

My short list of women who have inspired me includes: Eleanor Roosevelt, Gloria Steinem, Maya Angelou, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Dorothy Height.