In her academic writing, Rebecca focused on nineteenth-century accounts of the human body in a range of genres, including fiction, poetry, natural theology, medical writing, and evolutionary theory. She explored how novels—by authors including Mary Shelley, the Brontës, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy, and Stoker—represent human feeling in the era that came to understand the body as a conglomeration of independent parts and the brain as just one of many seats of perception. In the texts she studied, feeling is often described as a network of impulse that neither originates nor ends with the boundaries of any single body. Those texts prompted her to ask questions such as, "If human beings partake of the kind of affinity that draws birds to certain flowers, or unites a swarm of bees, what, if anything, makes us uniquely human?"

These research interests, combined with her interests in visual art and feminist theory, deeply informed Rebecca's teaching. In all of her courses, she empowered students by helping them understand that when they write, they enter scholarly conversations they can potentially shape. With this aim in mind, Rebecca collaborated frequently with campus departments and organizations—including the Davis Museum, the Wellesley Archives, and the Book Arts Lab—to create projects that ask students to analyze texts and contexts that have received little, if any, scholarly attention. As Rebecca observed, "when students use their writing to illuminate what has remained hidden in plain sight—and therefore to create new knowledge—they intuitively understand the larger stakes of their projects. Their writing, in turn, takes on a strong sense of purpose that students carry with them well beyond a single course."

Beyond the classroom, Rebecca was curious, active, and creative. She was certified Iyengar yoga teacher. She hiked the Inca trail, the Camino de Santiago, and the Coast to Coast trail in England. She had a keen eye for design, and she was an inveterate crafter who especially enjoyed knitting and sewing.

Rebecca passed away in April 2022 at the age of 47. In memory of her and to honor her remarkable commitment to helping students develop their voice, the Writing Program has established the Rebecca Summerhays Award for Growth in Writing. Donations to support the cash prize that comes with the award may be made online or by check. If you give a gift online, please select "Other" as the fund designation and type in "Chapman Fund."  If you give via a check, please write "Chapman Fund in memory of Rebecca Summerhays" in the memo line, and mail to Wellesley College Development Office, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481.