By Elisabeth Costanzo Stewart

In the world of higher education, the title “interim” functions like an on-campus Mary Poppins. Like the beloved character, interims answer a college’s call for help, offer their expertise, make positive contributions, and then set off for the next campus in need. When Dr. Christine Martey‐Ochola descended from the clouds to assume the role of SUNY Broome’s Interim Dean of STEM, great things quickly began to happen. New academic programs were developed, partnerships with the region’s top employers were forged, and students thrived.

But just when the campus community began to brace for the inevitable interim departure, something wonderful happened. Dr. Martey‐Ochola grew to love SUNY Broome too much to leave. Much to the College’s delight, the Mary Poppins of STEM was not carried away by the wind, but instead, remained to make even more significant impacts on SUNY Broome and in the lives of all whom she encounters.

Dr. Martey‐Ochola was born in the East African country, Kenya. Shortly after her birth, Christine moved to Moscow, Russia, with her parents, where they continued their studies in medicine, linguistics, and diplomacy. While her parents attended their respective lectures, Christine picked up Russian as her first language at her boarding daycare.

At the conclusion of her parents’ studies, the Ochola family intended to leave Moscow for Ghana, Dr. Martey‐Ochola’s father’s homeland. He had accepted a diplomatic position to guide President Kwame Nkrumah through the country’s early post-independence years. But just before their departure, the government collapsed, and most of her father’s colleagues were assassinated, ultimately forcing him into exile. To regroup, the family moved to her mother’s birthplace of Kenya. There, her mother became one of the first female OB-GYNs in the nation, while her father taught at an institute for Kenyan diplomats. Returning to Kenya reunited Christine and her younger brother with their older sister and large maternal extended family.

When Christine was 11, her mother passed away. Though the loss was tremendous, she was quickly enveloped by her grandmother, aunts, and cousins, who served as strong maternal influences throughout her life. It was during this season of her youth that Dr. Martey‐Ochola experienced another life-altering moment. Her sixth-grade teacher invited a group of scientists to speak to the class about their careers. Christine was in awe.

“Growing up, my exposure to science was connected to practicing medicine, but I knew that I did not want to become a doctor,” reflected Martey‐Ochola. “It was through listening to these scientists talk about their work and research that my interest in food science was first piqued. Not only were these scientists in the lab conducting research on the chemistry and analysis of food, but they were also working for cool companies like Nestlé and Cadbury. I was fascinated.”

As customary in Kenya, Christine attended boarding school for her middle and high school education. There, she focused on her studies, particularly the sciences, and threw herself into competitive swimming. Dr. Martey-Ochola became so proficient in the backstroke and breaststroke that she made the Kenya Swimming Federation (KSF) team as a high school student. She competed on behalf of Kenya in the All-Africa Games (African Games) and took home a bronze medal in the backstroke.

After finishing high school, Dr. Martey-Ochola attended Kenya Polytechnic (now Technical University of Kenya) to study food science. After graduating, she accepted a position with the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) (Kenya’s FDA), where she studied the chemical and microbiological analysis of food products. Through her work at (KEBS), Dr. Martey-Ochola developed a deep interest in the connection between toxicology and the role that food plays in connection to cancer. While he didn’t want to lose her in the lab, the chief biochemist at KEBS encouraged Christine to pursue an advanced degree in food science. 

With the help of her aunt Juni and a five-year vision board, Christine began to map out her professional future.

“I felt caught between two worlds,” Martey-Ochola explained. “I was drawn to fundamental science and research, but I also had a passion for public health, community development, and civic engagement. The HIV/AIDS epidemic was raging, and I was raised by a family who believed that we should work to improve the communities in which we live and engage. Ultimately, my aunt encouraged me to pursue a path towards science, assuring me that the community development piece was sure to follow.”

Photo Credit: Matt Ebbers

Through her network of ultra-supportive aunts and uncles, Christine was invited to come to the United States to continue her studies at East Stroudsburg University (ESU). Her uncle, an ESU alum, assured her that the university had a food science program. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until Dr. Martey-Ochola arrived on campus that she realized that her uncle had confused culinary arts with food science. While ESU did not offer a food science degree, they did have an excellent biochemistry program.

After finishing her degree at ESU, Christine opted to remain in Pennsylvania to complete her Ph.D. in pharmaceutical chemistry at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. She focused her graduate research on the relationship between pharmacology and toxicology. This led to an approved patent for a class of drugs designed to attenuate solid head and neck tumors.

Dr. Martey-Ochola’s fondest memories at Lehigh University centered around Dr. Ned D. Heindel, her advisor, mentor, and life coach. (Remember this name. SUNY Broome owes him a thank you.)

“Dr. Heindel sat me down and asked me if I wanted to get married and have children. He explained that he and his wife had consciously decided to focus fully on their academic research and community engagement. If I wanted to experience marriage and motherhood in addition to my professional academic career, he advised that I would need to be intentional with all of my decisions,” Martey-Ochola recalled. “When I responded that I did, he said, ‘Great! Let’s make a plan.’ We hear the term ‘intrusive advising’ a lot in higher education, and this is it. Dr. Heindel wanted to guide me in achieving my professional as well as life goals.”

Part of following Dr. Heindel’s guidance included marrying Charles Ochola. Charles and Christine first met as children in Kenya. Their journeys continued to intersect, first at ESU and then at Lehigh. Realizing that their presence in each other’s lives was not simply a coincidence, they married and had two sons, Christian and Camayo. 

After a post-doc at the University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital, Dr. Martey-Ochola began her teaching career, first as a professor of biochemistry at Shippensburg University and then at Villanova University. She balanced her classroom duties with extensive research and committee work. Christine came to a crossroads when she was offered tenure at Villanova. She loved her role as a professor, but felt drawn to academic leadership. In a controversial move, Dr.  Martey-Ochola left her tenure track position to work as a consultant for Ellucian, the world’s leader in higher education technology.

“It was a big step to leave the familiarity of research and instruction, but I wanted to understand higher education from a systems perspective, and this was the best way to do it,” Martey-Ochola explained. “I provided the faculty point of view for institutions searching for sustainable online learning and faculty development opportunities for their STEM divisions.”

In her six years with Ellucian, Dr. Martey-Ochola consulted for over 40 domestic and international colleges and universities, including Johns Hopkins University, the Harvard School of Public Health, and several of the University of California (UC) campuses.

After identifying the niche market of crafting academic and strategic plans, Christine left Ellucian to pursue independent consulting. That is how the Mary Poppins of STEM arrived at SUNY Broome in 2021, by invitation from Dr. Penny Kelly, to consult and assist in the development of the College’s academic master plan. Not long after, she assumed the role as the interim Dean of STEM when the opportunity arose.

Last spring, Dr. Martey-Ochola went to visit her beloved mentor, Dr. Heindel. He reminded her that on their regular “just checking in calls,” often made during her commutes to Binghamton, that she beamed about the institution, her colleagues, and the opportunity to finally connect her two passions— science and technology and community and economic development. This was the combination that she had first outlined in her five-year vision board as an undergraduate student.

“Dr. Heindel asked me if he could have one of my SUNY Broome interim business cards,” Martey-Ochola said. “He said that he was going to keep it because he had a feeling that this was where I was going to stay. He knew before I did. Sadly, Dr. Heindel passed away before I officially accepted the position, so I never got to tell him that he was right.”

Dr. Martey-Ochola approaches each day at SUNY Broome driven by an innate desire to embrace challenges and to contribute solutions collaboratively. It is this perspective that ensures that many more student and community-centered opportunities and initiatives are to come. To SUNY Broome’s great benefit, this Mary Poppins’ decision to permanently join the administration will help to ground the College’s future in a foundation of passion, integrity, and a commitment to community development.

Were you inspired by Dr. Martey-Ochola’s  academic and personal journey? Read more stories about  SUNY Broome’s incredible students, faculty, and staff in the newest digital edition of BROOME Magazine! 

 

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