Chemical Education Today
Editorial
Chemical Education and the ACS process. By all accounts the initiative was a success. There Our parent organization, the American Chemical will be another AEI poster session next fall in Washington, Society, pointed out some time ago that it was the world’s DC, and those who want to hire new faculty should make a largest scientific society devoted to a single discipline. We note to attend. The same applies to those seeking faculty poare fortunate to have such an umbrella organization that sitions. This is a two-year experihelps tie together the many subdisciplines ment that was initiated by ACS and interdisciplinary interests that characterI encourage those who are President Chuck Casey. Input is ize modern chemical science. Founded in sought regarding the success of the 1876, the ACS was chartered by the U.S. government in 1937. Its charter includes experimenting with graduate first year’s events and whether the AEI ought to become a fixture at education as a prominent activity. The socieducation to make use of ACS national (or regional) meetety takes seriously its responsibilities with reings. Send your comments to gard to education. Myriad volunteers and a these pages to spread their
[email protected]. significant cohort of staff members at ACS Graduate education in chemisheadquarters are involved in a broad range ideas more widely. try has been discussed on these pages of educational and outreach activities that before (4), and it was the subject of can be sampled through the ACS Web site a presidential symposium at the recent ACS meeting in Phila(1). This issue of JCE reports on several initiatives, old delphia (p 1698). ACS President Chuck Casey explains that and new, that ACS is making in the areas of undergraduhe sponsored the symposium to focus attention on several ate and graduate education. questions. Do current Ph.D. programs address student needs Crim and Polik (p 1695) report that the ACS Comadequately? How can we help graduate students become promittee on Professional Training (CPT) is carrying out a maficient at learning new fields and at working with experts from jor review of the CPT Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures other disciplines? What are graduate faculties doing to evalufor Undergraduate Professional Education in Chemistry (2). ate Ph.D. programs and experiment with innovative ways to Some time ago I called attention to an update of these guideimprove them? Notable about the presidential symposium is lines that changed the requirements for a chemistry major that graduate students were important participants in orgaconcentrating in chemistry education and introduced a nizing the program and presenting their ideas for improving chemistry education minor (3). Now CPT would like the graduate education. The broad range of interests and experentire community of chemists to provide feedback on the tise represented at this symposium and reported beginning complete set of guidelines. Crim and Polik list ten questions on p 1698 bode well for improvements in graduate educaon which they are soliciting input and request that you email tion throughout the U.S. comments to
[email protected] with “ACS Guidelines Revision” This Journal stands ready to disseminate information in the subject line. All comments received before the end and ideas regarding both graduate and undergraduate eduof December will be summarized and organized for considcation. In particular, I encourage those who are experimenteration by CPT members at the spring ACS national meeting with graduate education to make use of these pages to ing. Discussion of the guidelines will continue through spread their ideas more widely. The parent ACS, the Divisummer 2005, and your input will be valuable at any time sion of Chemical Education, and this Journal are working to during the winter and spring. Please think about what an improve chemical education at all levels, K–12, undergraduACS-certified undergraduate should know and be able to ate, and graduate. Please join us in these endeavors by writdo, think about the impact of the CPT guidelines on your ing up your innovative programs or critiques of existing department’s program, jot down suggestions for improving programs and sending them to us for publication. We look the guidelines, and make your views known to CPT. forward to hearing from you. On p 1697 an article by Casey and Bell reports on the ACS Academic Employment Initiative (AEI), which was inaugurated as a 2004 ACS Presidential Event at the national meeting this past spring and fall. In the spring a three-hour Literature Cited session involved interaction between the audience and a panel made up of experienced faculty and recently-hired faculty. 1. http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/educatorsandstudents.html There will be another such panel next spring at the San Diego (accessed October 2004). national meeting. At the fall 2004 national meeting, candi2. http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/acsdisplay.html?DOC= dates for academic positions and those recruiting for such education\cpt\guidelines.html (accessed October 2004). positions came together in the relatively informal setting of 3. Moore, J. W. J. Chem. Educ. 2003, 80, 719. a poster session. The aim was to maximize interactions among 4. Moore, J. W. J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79, 7; Moore, J. W. candidates and recruiters and to broaden the faculty hiring J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79, 1159.
www.JCE.DivCHED.org
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Vol. 81 No. 12 December 2004
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Journal of Chemical Education
1687
