G. A. Nyssen Trevecco Nozorene College Nashville, Tennessee 37210 W. E. Martindale Belmont College Nashville, Tennessee 37203
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A Unique Cooperative Program in Chemistry
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Trevecca Nazarene College and Belmont College are church-related four-year liberal arts colleges in Nashville, Tennessee. Trevecca is owned and operated by the Church of the Nazarene, and Belmont is owned and operated by the Tennessee Baptist Convention. Their size and institutional purposes are similar and their campuses are ahout three miles apart. For several years their chemistry faculties have cooperated extensively for the mutual henefit of hoth schools. with the full knowledge . and consent of their administrations. As seen in Table 1, hoth institutions are small; each has only one full-time chemistry faculty memher. The courses hevond general chemistry usually have small enrollments and are often taught in alternate years. The Belmont professor specializes in organic chemistry and biochemistry; while the Trevecca professor specializes in inorganic, analytical, and physical chemistry. The different areas of faculty specialization and the similarity in size and purpose of the two colleges are the basis for a unique cooperative effort. The cooperation has occurred in several ways: 1) Occasionally a "swap-out'' arrangement is made in which two-thirds of a professor's teaching load is at his own institution and one-third is off campus a t the other college. The other institution reciprocates and has part of its faculty member's assignment off campus also. Each faculty member receives a full-time salary from his own institution for teaching at hoth schools. In addition, a travel allowance ($40 per month) is given to each faculty memher to compensate for the expense and trouble of driving two or three times per week to the other campus. Such an arrangement allows the professor's teaching to he more concentrated in his own area of specialization. An illustration of the planned cooperation for Fall 1973 is seen in Table 2. Note that hoth faculty members teach more in their areas of specialization as a result of the faculty exchange. 2) When each institution's class schedule is too heavy to permit the above arrangement, each professor may teach a course in his specialty at the other college in addition to his full load a t his home institution, in a mutual "moonlighting" arrangement. 3) Advanced courses are often taught in alternate years at each college. Class schedules are planned as much as possible so that in a year when a particular advanced course is not offered at one school it is offered at the other school. Thus a student who needs a certain course not being offered a t his college can arrange to take it a t the
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/ Journal of Chemical Education
other college. He may under certain conditions get free transportation to the other campus. This arrangement permits larger enrollments in some advanced courses and makes them more economically worthwhile. 4) Specialized equipment and unusual chemicals at one college are readily available for use by faculty and students at the other school, thus avoiding expensive duplication. 5) Finally, this close cooperation is a real help in emergencies. For example, the main academic building at Belmont College, which housed the laboratories, was recently destroyed hy fire, hut the close relationship of the schools and faculties aided in securing laboratory space, equipment. and chemicals from Trevecca to help Belmont during the crisis period. We think that such cooperation is very helpful for small colleges similar to ours. It allows a greater-breadth and depth in each school's chemistry program than would otherwise he possihle, and the cost is minimal. In these days of tight hudgets and increased specialization, small colleges would do well to consider such cooperation whenever possible. "United we stand, divided we fall." Table 1. Enrollments of the Participating Institutions lhxm, Nazarene C d l ~ p .
Total Enrollment: 768 Chemistry course Enmllments: Courae Sehool Year 1969-70 1970-71 1971-72 6 9 8 Organic 3 ... Physical ... Analytical 5 6 ...
1972-73 15 1 6
Belmont CoKeg. Total Enrollment: 920 Chemistry course E",",lmer.ts: course ~ e h c . 3year Summer Summer Summer 1969-70 1970 1970-71 1971 1971-72 1912 1972-73 29 . 24 16 organic . 1s 8 Physical 10 ... ... 4 ... Analvtiesl 16 .. . 7 20 ... 7
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Table 2. Comparison of Fall 1973 Teaching Assignments with and without Cooperation Without mopemtion: teaching assignments povld be Nyssen: Tmwcca, Mortindale: B e l m ~ n f General Chemistry General Chemletry Physical Chemistry Organic Chemistry Analytical Chemletry Biochemistry WiOI mooemtbn: . ~~~, teachine assienments would be Martindole: Relmont Nyssan: Tmvoem General Chemistry General Chemistry Physical Chemistry (at Belmont) Organic Chemistry (at Tmveeea) Hinchemiatrv Analvtieal Chem~rhry
