John R. Sampey Furrnan University Greenville, southCarolina
Chemical Research in Liberal Arts Colleges, 1952-59
The last three years have witnessed a surge of increased interest in chemical research in liberal arts colleges. In an earlier study' 162 colleges had 736 articles abstracted in Chemical Abstracts during the five-year period, 1952-56. The present report tabulates 1120 articles from 231 colleges during the eight-year span, 1952-59. The addition of 69 liberal arts institutions to those engaged in chemical research during the last three years is significant, and the increase of 384 publications reflects further the growth of the idea of research as an integral part of the liberal . arts program. Another approach to the increased interest of liberal arts collews in research mav be gained bv notine that. in 1952, 53 colleges had 10i artGles a h s k c t e d in CA; whereas in 1959 the numbers had climbed to 80 colleges with 160 abstracts in this key publication to the world's chemical literature. Research activity, however, remains concentrated in a relatively few colleges, for 37 institutions account for 785, or 70%, of the total publications for 1952-59 (Table 1). These 37 colleges averaged one or more articles a year. Another 29 institutions had four to seven articles during the eight years, for a combined output of 149 articles (Table 2). Table 1.
Liberal Arts Colleaes Averoaina One or More Articles o Year in-c~for 19321-59
Alfred. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Amherst. . . . . . . . . .81 Antioch.. . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Augustana.. . . . . 8 Brooklyn.. . . . . . . . . . . ..92 Calvin.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Canisius. . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Carletan.. . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Carson-Newman. . . . 2 5 Centenary.. . . . . . . . . . ..10 C. of Holv Cross.. . . . . 1 1 C. of WoGster. . . . . . . . l 2 DePaul. . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Fisk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Florida Southern.. . . . .12 Franklin and Marshall. 1 1 Furman.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1 Grinnell.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Haverford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Marshall.. . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Miami (Ohio). . . . . . . . . . . . l l Morg& State.. . . . . . . . . . . 8 Mount Helyoke. . . . .34 Mt. Mercy. . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Oberlin.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 Pomons.. . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Providence. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 Queens.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 Reed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Southern Illinois. . . . . . . ..25 St. Joseph (Md.). . . . . . . .. I 0 Tex. State C. Women.. . . . l l Trinitv (Tex.). . . . . . . . . . . .12 U. of Richmond.. . . . . . . . . l 3 Vasssr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .lo Wenlevan (C0nn.l. . . . 2 4
' SAMPEY,J. R., J. CAEM.EDUC.,34, 352 (1957).
SAMPEY,J. R., Industrial Darelopment 167, "The Blue Book of Southern Progress," 1959, p. 8.
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Journal of Chemical Education
Table 2.
Liberal Arts Colleges with 4 to 7 Articles in CA, 1952-59
Ahilene. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 5 Agnes Scott. . . . . . . . . . .. 5 Bates.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Bethany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 C. of St. Thomas.. . . . . 6 Connecticut. . . . . . . . . .. G Denison. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 DePauw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Fresno State.. . . . . . . . . .. 5 Hope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5. John Carroll.. . . . . . . . . . .4 Lebanon Valley. . . . . . G Linfield. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Monmouth . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Mt. Union. . . . . . . . . . . ..4
Naeareth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 New Mexico Highlands. . . . 4 Ohio Wesleyan. . . . . . . . . . .. 4 St. Ambrose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 St. Joseph (Conn.). . - . . . .4 St. O M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..6 St. Peters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Texas Southern . . . .7 Trinity (Conn.). . . . . . . . . . . 6 Wabash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6. Wellesley.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Wheatan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Woodstock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Xavier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.
Additional evidence for the concentration of research in a few institutions is seen in the fact that forty per cent of the colleges (92 of 231) are credited with only one publication during the eight years, 1952-59. The 9th Edition (1959) of the "College Blue Book" has been used to determine the liberal arts status of the colleges. Several institutions passed from the ranks of liberal arts colleges to those having professional schools during the last three years. While liberal arts colleges constitute the largest unused research potential in the country, the publications cited in this study are not insignificant. Measured quantitatively the 1120 articles represent almost the equivalent in number to three years of publication by such an active government research center as Oak Ridge, or the number of papers released by the South's most active academic institution, the University of Texas, over a five-year span a t current rates of produ~tivity.~ No comparison is suggested in the quality of the research published, but there is a growing appreciation in liberal arts colleges for undergraduate research as a teaching tool, and for the satisfaction it brings to the instructor as a contributor to his own field of specializati~n.~ EDITOR'SNOTE: See "Research and Teaching in the Liberal Arts College," s. report of the conference on this theme held a t the College of Wooster, June, 1959, under the sponsorship of the Division of Chemical Education with NSF support. Copies of this report are available from Dr. John D. Reinheimer, Department of Chemistry, College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio, or Dr. Harry F. Lewis, Institute of Paper Chemistry, Appleton, Wisconsin.
