Chemical Education Today
ACS Presidential Election
Chemical Education—Combining Focused Action and Passion by Cheryl A. Martin
Challenges Create Opportunity The current global economic upheaval is a time of opportunity. With all the challenges surrounding us, people are opening their minds to new possibilities, understanding that old paradigms must shift—topics such as sustainability and alternate energy are no longer just fads, but are opening up intriguing scientific challenges and providing new jobs. We in the ACS have an obligation to think beyond our own boundaries and embrace emerging technologies and businesses more than ever before. I believe we have to focus to continue to develop an educated citizenry by providing a fundamental knowledge base for everyone, more detailed skills for those entering or retraining in technical professions, and funding for those who are doing the research to move us to a new level. Focus and Action The ACS, as one of the premier scientific societies in the world, must provide strong leadership on science education. We need to partner and leverage activities with international societies and companies. There are many challenges, but we have already accomplished so much—just look on the ACS Web site under “Education”—we have areas dedicated to youth, teacher training, graduates, and those advanced in their careers; we have coursework, lab experiments, guidelines, and podcasts. I am excited about the formation earlier this year of a Board–Presidential Task Force on Education, with membership from inside and outside the ACS, charged with identifying priorities and actions the ACS might take to implement recommendations of the STEM reports of the past five years. As those recommendations are communicated this fall, we all need to shift into action. As President of the ACS, I will fully support the efforts needed to drive action. It will not be enough to have great ideas—we must have outstanding implementation! Tools, Metrics, and Funding As we prioritize and implement any plans, we face additional challenges around tools and metrics. We certainly do not lack information to share regarding science education, but is it really utilized as effectively as it should be? Is information from the ACS reaching people efficiently, especially in light of recent budget cuts at schools and companies? Do we have the right balance of push and pull in how we provide this information? I believe that we need to be very data driven—using existing data
about different ways people learn and what excites people about science to check our priorities, as well as set up appropriate metrics to ensure we stay on the intended path as we move ahead. I am a strong proponent of the ACS providing input to Congress on technology issues and advocating for scientific funding through government agencies as well as other broader Cheryl A. Martin private/public consortia. I welcome the opportunity as ACS President to engage government leaders, both in the U.S. and globally, on the important issues of education, science funding, and the critical role of the ACS in creating the workforce of the future. Vision and Passion We can have the best action plan, but without vision and passion we will fail! I have always been awed by what can happen when people understand the goal and have a heartfelt commitment to make it happen. Think about why you started in chemistry yourself ? Feel that excitement again! I have a challenge—how can you relate that excitement to some newer, emerging areas? Who can you talk to in the next 24 hours and share that enthusiasm? The reality is we will need all 150,000+ members of the ACS to be inspired to move science education forward and take action personally—many will teach students utilizing both existing and emerging tools and experiments, some will guide research projects in our colleges and universities, others will help guide fellow ACS members on career path changes, some will commercialize life changing products for society at large, others will speak to U.S. and international bodies on critical science funding—each one with their unique, contagious excitement, and fervor. As ACS president in 2011, I will bring my own passion and commitment to the ongoing, evolving actions around chemical education—please join me! Literature Cited (both sites accessed Jul 2009) 1. See http://www.chemistry2011.org. 2. Go to http://camartinacscandidate.blogspot.com/.
Supporting JCE Online Material
http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2009/Oct/abs1171.html Abstract and keywords Full text (PDF) with links to cited URLs
Cheryl A. Martin, currently on sabbatical, is former Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Rohm & Haas Co., Philadelphia, PA;
[email protected].
© Division of Chemical Education • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • Vol. 86 No. 10 October 2009 • Journal of Chemical Education
1171
photo: Susan Beard Design
As we look toward 2011, the International Year of Chemistry (1), education continues to be a cornerstone of the American Chemical Society (ACS) agenda. Many in the ACS are already engaged in revitalizing and focusing our chemical education content and processes. As a candidate for ACS President, I have focused my campaign efforts on education, along with innovation, partnership, and leadership (2).
