SCHOOL OF SCIENCE
PENN STATE BEHREND
1 PRISCHAK BUILDING
ERIE PA 16563
Biography
Cora E. MacBeth was appointed director of the School of Science at Penn State Behrend, effective July 1, 2025. A native of Clarion County and a 1996 graduate of Penn State Behrend with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, she brings more than 20 years of experience as a faculty member, researcher, and academic administrator at Emory University.
MacBeth earned her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Kansas. She later served as a senior research fellow at the Beckman Institute at the California Institute of Technology, where her work focused on the synthesis, characterization, and small-molecule reactivity of transition metal complexes.
An accomplished scholar, MacBeth has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and holds three patents. She was part of the team that led a $20 million National Science Foundation Center for Chemical Innovation at Emory, which advanced chemical synthesis techniques in support of materials science and pharmaceutical development.
In 2012, MacBeth began taking on administrative leadership roles at Emory, including assistant dean for student affairs and professional development in the Laney Graduate School and associate director of the NIH-funded Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) program. She also directed the Emory College Scholars and Honors programs.
Most recently, she served as associate dean in the Office for Undergraduate Education in the Emory College of Arts and Sciences.
Publications
Supporting 2-year colleges and professional development, Chemical and Engineering News - November 18, 2024
ACS Approval Program has revised guidelines for bachelor’s degrees, Chemical and Engineering News - May 1, 2023
Comment: ACS Approval Program has revised guidelines for bachelor’s degrees, Chemical and Engineering News - April 30, 2023
Crystal Structure and Vibrational Spectra of Bis(2-isobutyrylamidophenyl)amine: A Redox Noninnocent Ligand, Turkish Journal of Chemistry - 2021
Collaborators: E Aslantarar; S Sharma; O Willanueva; I Gumus; H Arslan
Mechanistic details of the cobalt-mediated dehydrogenative dimerization of aminoquinoline-directed benzamides, Chemical Science - 2020
Collaborators: Li-Ping Xu, Author; Elaine Liu, Author; John Bacsa, Author; Djamaladdin Musaev, Author
Organotin(IV) derivatives of amide-based carboxylates: Synthesis, spectroscopic characterization, single crystal studies and antimicrobial, antioxidant, cytotoxic, anti-leishmanial, hemolytic, noncancerous, anticancer activities, Inorganica Chimica Acta - May, 2020
Collaborators: Iftikhar Ahmad, Author; Array Zia-ur-Rehman, Author; Amir Waseem, Author; Muhammad Tariq, Author; John Bacsa, Author; Deepak Venkataraman, Author; Augustine Rajakumar, Author; Nazif Ullah, Author; Saira Tabassum, Author
The Mechanism of Rhodium-Catalyzed Allylic C–H Amination, Journal of the American Chemical Society - March 25, 2020
Collaborators: Robert Harris, Author; Jiyong Park, Author; Taylor Nelson, Author; Nafees Iqbal, Author; Daniel Salgueiro, Author; John Bacsa, Author; Mu-Hyun Baik, Author; Simon Blakey, Author
The “new normal”: Adapting doctoral trainee career preparation for broad career paths in science, PLOS ONE - May 24, 2017
Collaborators: Rebekah St. Clair, Author; Tamara Hutto, Author; Wendy Newstetter, Author; Nael McCarty, Author; Julia Melkers, Author
Oxygen Activation by Co(II) and a Redox Non-Innocent Ligand: Spectroscopic Characterization of a Radical–Co(II)–Superoxide Complex with Divergent Catalytic Reactivity, Journal of the American Chemical Society - February 17, 2016
Collaborators: Amanda Corcos, Author; Omar Villanueva, Author; Richard Walroth, Author; Savita Sharma, Author; John Bacsa, Author; Kyle Lancaster, Author; John Berry, Author
Cobalt catalyzed sp3 C–H amination utilizing aryl azides, Chemical Science - 2015
Collaborators: Omar Villanueva, Author; Nina Weldy, Author; Simon Blakey, Author
Lanthanide(III) Di- and Tetra-Nuclear Complexes Supported by a Chelating Tripodal Tris(Amidate) Ligand, Inorganic Chemistry - April 20, 2015
Collaborators: Jessie Brown, Author; Matthew Jones, Author; Andrew Gaunt, Author; Brian Scott, Author; John Gordon, Author
Antitumor properties of five-coordinate gold(III) complexes bearing substituted polypyridyl ligands, Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry - November, 2013
Collaborators: Chinar Sanghvi, Author; Pauline Olsen, Author; Catherine Elix, Author; Shifang Peng, Author; Dongsheng Wang, Author; Zhuo Chen, Author; Dong Shin, Author; Kenneth Hardcastle, Author; Jack Eichler, Author
N-tert-Butyl-2-methylpropanamide, Acta Crystallogr Sect E Struct Rep Online - December, 2011
Collaborators: K Kluge; D Fridyland; K Hardcastle
Erratum: N-tert-Butyl-2-methyl-propanamide. Corrigendum, Acta Crystallogr Sect E Struct Rep Online - November, 2011
Collaborators: K Kluge; D Fridlyand; K Hardcastle
Oxygen Activation and Intramolecular C–H Bond Activation by an Amidate-Bridged Diiron(II) Complex, Inorganic Chemistry - July 18, 2011
Collaborators: Matthew Jones, Author; Kenneth Hardcastle, Author; Karl Hagen, Author
Catalytic dioxygen activation by Co(ii) complexes employing a coordinatively versatile ligand scaffold, Chemical Communications - December, 2010
Collaborators: S Sharma; P May; M Jones; S Lense; K Hardcastle
Chelating tris(amidate) ligands: versatile scaffolds for nickel(ii), Dalton Trans. - 2010
Collaborators: Matthew Jones, Author; Brian Newell, Author; Wesley Hoffert, Author; Kenneth Hardcastle, Author; Matthew Shores, Author
Synthetic, spectral and structural studies of mononuclear tris(κ2-amidate) aluminium complexes supported by tripodal ligands, Polyhedron - January, 2010
Collaborators: Matthew Jones, Author; Kenneth Hardcastle, Author
Effect of Methylene Spacers on the Spectral, Electrochemical and Structural Properties of bis(4,4’-disubstituted-2,2’-bipyridyl) Ruthenium(II) Dye Analogues, Dalton Trans. - 2009
Collaborators: S Lense; K Hardcastle
Synthesis and characterization of gold complexes possessing 2,9-dialkylphenanthroline ligands: To bind or not to bind?, Dalton Trans. - 2009
Collaborators: Z Hudson; C Sangvhi; J Ng; S Bunge; K Hardcastle; J Eichler
Tripodal Phenylamine-Based Ligands and Their CoII Complexes, Inorg. Chem - 2007
Collaborator: M Jones
Synthesis and characterization of cationic iron complexes supported by the neutral ligands NPi-Pr 3, NArPi-Pr 3, and NSt-Bu 3, Can. J. Chem. - 2005
Collaborators: S Harkins; J Peters
The Coordination Chemistry of "[BP3]NiX" Platforms: Targeting Low-Valent Nickel Sources as Promising Candidates to L3Ni=E and L3NiºE Linkages, Inorg. Chem. - 2004
Collaborators: J Thomas; T Betley; J Peters
Utilization of Hydrogen Bonds to Stabilize M-O(H) Units: Synthesis and Properties of Monomeric Iron and Manganese Complexes with Terminal Oxo and Hydroxide Ligands, J. Am. Chem. Soc. - 2004
Collaborators: R Gupta; K Mitchell-Koch; V Young; G Lushington; W Thompson; M Hendrich; A Borovik
A bidentate ligand with appended hydrogen bond donors: synthesis and structure of four-coordinate metal complexes with bis[(tertbutyl) aminocarbonyl]-1,2-diaminoethane, Inorganica Chimica Acta. - 2002
Collaborators: L Larsen; T Sorrell; D Powell; A Borovik
Isolation of Monomeric MnIII/II-OH and MnIII-O Complexes from Water: Evaluation of O-H Bond Dissociation Energies, J. Am. Chem. Soc. - 2002
Collaborators: R Gupta; V Young, Jr.; A Borovik
Hydrogen-Bonding Cavities about Metal Ions: Synthesis, Structure, and Physical Properties for a Series of Monomeric M-OH Complexes Derived from Water, Inorg. Chem. - 2001
Collaborators: B Hammes; V Young, Jr.; A Borovik
Immobilized Metal Complexes in Porous Organic Hosts: Development of a Material for the Selective and Reversible Binding of Nitric Oxide, J. Am. Chem. Soc. - 2001
Collaborators: K Padden; J Krebs; R Scarrow; A Borovik
O2 Activation by Non-Heme Iron Complexes: A Monomeric Fe(III)-Oxo Complex Derived from O2, Science - 2000
Collaborators: A Golombek; V Young, Jr.; C Yang; K Kuczera; M Hendrich; A Borovik
trans-Diaquabis(2-thienyl 2- pyridyl ketone-O,N)copper(II) tetrafluoroborate, Acta Crystallogr., Sect. C: Cryst. Struct. Commun. - 1998
Collaborators: S Sommerer; T Friebe; A Jircitano; K Aboud
Chlorobis(N,N’-di-2-pyridyl ketone oximato)gold (III) hydrate, Acta Crystallogr., Sect. C: Cryst. Struct. Commun. - 1997
Collaborators: S Sommerer; A Jircitano; K Aboud
Education
Senior Research Fellow, California Institute of Technology
Ph.D., Chemistry, University of Kansas
B.S., Pennsylvania State University