Elaine Nicpon Marieb
Elaine Nicpon Marieb was an human anatomist. She was the author of many textbooks, notably Human Anatomy & Physiology, Essentials of Human Anatomy And Physiology, and Essentials of Human Anatomy & Physiology Lab Manual (3rd Edition).[1]
Elaine Nicpon Marieb | |
|---|---|
| Died | December 20, 2016 (aged 80) |
| Citizenship | USA |
| Children | Pamela Marieb |
| Parents |
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Early life
Marieb was born in 1936 in Northampton, where she grew up on the family farm. A nontraditional student, at 28 she earned her bachelor's degree at Westfield State College. She earned a master's degree in biology at Mount Holyoke College, finally, a PhD in zoology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst before 1969 when she got a teaching job at Holyoke Community College, then Holyoke Junior College.[2]
Career
Dr. Marieb liked to call herself an "accidental author," as prior to reviewing textbook manuscripts for Addison-Wesley in the 1970s she had authored only a few articles in academic journals. While writing those articles, Dr. Marieb decided to write her own laboratory manual, which across the United States became the most widely used lab manual in colleges and universities, soon after it was published in 1981.
Dr. Marieb then set out to write what would become her magnum opus—her human anatomy and physiology textbook. Having known both roles as a student and as a teacher gave Marieb special insights into foundational knowledge that nurses needed to master. Armed with this knowledge, plus talent for teaching and writing, Marieb authored Human Anatomy & Physiology. The textbook was published in 1989 and took off with both instructors and students.[3]
Marieb was best known for writing textbooks on anatomy and physiology. This she began doing after hearing from nursing students how poor their materials were. So she choose to enroll in Holyoke Community College's nursing program to better understand the concerns of those nurses, in 1980 graduating with an associate degree. She got her bachelor's in nursing from Fitchburg State College, and a master's in nursing and gerontology from the University of Massachusetts.[4]
Death
Elaine Nicpon Marieb died at the age of 82 on December 20, 2016, of complications due to Parkinson's disease.[2]
Legacy
In 2016, Time magazine named its "100 Most-Read Female Writers in College Classes." Just below authors such as Jane Austen, Toni Morrison, Mary Shelley, and Virginia Woolf, and at number 7 was textbook author Elaine Nicpon Marieb. Around the world, her books are assigned in more than 2,400 classrooms, and some students now study in the college that bears her name at Florida Gulf Coast University.[5]
Marieb had a knack for teaching human anatomy and physiology. She taught this, among other subjects, at Springfield College and Holyoke Community College for years, and she eventually wrote down her methods. She published over than a dozen textbooks.[5]
