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Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Lacy Cleveland

Meet Dr. Lacy Cleveland

Degrees and Experience
  • Ph.D., Biological Education (University of Northern Colorado)
  • M.A., Biology (Emporia State University)
  • B.S., Biology (Southwestern College)
Biography and Professional Achievements

Dr. Lacy Cleveland comes to CCU with a wealth of broad and varied teaching experiences. Cleveland previously taught in high school science in the rural, suburban, and urban settings. During her first year as a secondary educator, the Kansas State Board of Education granted her the Horizon Award, recognizing Cleveland for her excellence in outstanding teaching skills. Over the expansion of her teaching career, Cleveland has also taught for several community colleges and universities. Most recently, Cleveland comes from Red Rocks Community College, where she taught general biology, hosted cadaver workshops, and executed a grant to produce open education resource biology curriculum. 

Cleveland expresses gratitude for the opportunity to use her gifts and talents to serve the CCU community. She hopes to build upon the School of Science and Engineering's tradition of excellence and to inspire the next generation of health professionals to show God's love and power as they live out their calling.

Publications
  • Cleveland, L.M., Duff, L.R., Allgier, L.D., Renfrow, J.J. (In Review; Revisions submitted 2025, August 18; Submitted 2025, May 1;). Battle of the Blood: Understanding hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn.
  • Cleveland, L.M., Primak, J. Obbink, A.B., White, M.V., & Bovi, C. (Published 2025, August 18; Accepted 2025, July 23; Submitted 2025, April 11). Renal revolt: A deeper understanding of nephron anatomy and urine formation. (https://www.nsta.org/ncss-case-study/renal-revolt)
  • Araujo, B, Speer, A.M., Densmore, R.N., Duff, L.R., & Cleveland, L.M., (Published 2025, July 7; Accepted 2025, April 7; Submitted 2025, January 10). Navigating the complexities of the endocrine system. National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (https://www.nsta.org/ncss-case-study/navigating-complexity-endocrine-system).
  • Cleveland, L.M., Halliburton, M., Jacobs-Strugala, M., & Vander Schaff, K. (Published May 23, 2025; Accepted 2024, March 11; Submitted 2024, August 24). A murder mystery: The silent killer. An exploration of the oxygen-hemoglobin dissociation curve. National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (https://www.nsta.org/ncss-case-study/silent-killer).
  • Cleveland, L.M., Savage, C., & Kaschmitter, E. (Published 2024, September 9; Accepted 2024, July 29; Submitted 2024, April 10). A Fiery Feeling: An Exploration of Stomach Acid Production. National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (https://www.nsta.org/ncss-case-study/fiery-feeling).
  • Leatherman, J.L., & Cleveland, L.M. (2019). Student exam performance in flipped classroom sections is similar to that in active learning sections, and satisfaction with the flipped classroom hinges on attitudes toward learning from videos. Journal of Biological Education 66: 328-344 (https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2019.1575266).
  • Callan, K., Adams, W.K., & Cleveland, L. (Spring 2018). MythBusters: Interventions to address and correct misperceptions about the teaching profession. Forum on Education Newsletter (Invited).
  • Cleveland, L.M., McCabe, T.M., & Olimpo, J.T (2018). A call for programmatic assessment of undergraduate students’ conceptual understanding and higher-order cognitive skills. Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education 19(1) (https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v19i1.1368).
  • Cleveland, L.M., & Reinsvold, R.J. (2017). Development of oral communication skills by undergraduates that convey evolutionary concepts to the public. Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education 18(1) (https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v18i1.1227).
  • Cleveland, L.M., Olimpo, J.T., & DeChenne, S.E. (2007). Investing the relationship between instructors’ use of active learning strategies and students’ conceptual understanding and affective changes in introductory biology: A comparison of two instructors. CBE-Life Science Education 16(2):ar19 (https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-06-0181).
  • Cleveland, L.M. & Olimpo, J.T. 2015. Deciphering primary and popular literature: An interactive approach for promoting students' development of scientific, digital, and information literacy in the undergraduate context. Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education 16(2):256-257 (https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v16i2.959).
  • Reinsvold, L.A., Reinsvold, R.J., Cleveland, L.M., Adams, W.K., & Keenan, S.M. (2014). Report of the 2013 Colorado STEM teacher preparation symposium. Greeley, CO: University of Northern Colorado.