FINDING AND FOUNDING FUTURE CHEMISTS GARRETT W. THIESSEN Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois
THESPECIAL success of Monmouth College in starting men on the road to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in chemistry [See LEWIS, H. F., "The role of the liberal arts college in the professional training of chemists," J. CHEM.EDUC.,28 104-7 (1951)] has led to numerous inquiries into our procedures. It therefore seemed advisable to offer, in this article, an account thereof to a journal of national circulation. The present writer is qualified to present the facts, since he has been closely associated for many years with the prime developer of these results here, but was not himself that developer. The stimulus starting our activity was a criticism leveled a t this school, near the time of World War I, for its lack of productivity of graduate students. W. S. HaJdeman (now emeritus) was then the sole member of our chemistry staff. (He taught physics in alternate years also, during his spare time!) He decided to induce some of his students, if possible, to take graduate work in chemistry. He began by watching his firstyear students carefully. A system of almost daily tests soon began to differentiate them. He singled out particularly young men of superior scholarship in his courses. With such he became specially well acquainted. He would let them know that their good work was noted and appreci ated. Signs of dereliction from the path of achievement -an occasional poor grade, obvious overloads of paid work or other extra-curricular activity-were as duly noted and as frankly discussed. This supervision continued through the upper classes. By the time a student became a sophomore and had declared his intention to major in chemistry, he realized that our department had certain important hopes attached to him. His registration was guided each semester. All his grades were sharply watched. If he had financial or other personal problems he knew he could bring them into the chemistry office for an airing, and often did. An assistant-
ship would usually be found for him, if his record was good, often even in his sophomore year. Students who could not stand the discipline were helped to find a department where they could invest at higher interest. When the senior year was started, two things, the student knew, had to be put in order. One was his application for his Bachelor of Science degree, a paper which demonstrated that all the requirements were fulfilled. During each preceding registration, Haldeman or the additional staff which later joined him, would
have checked to see that the courses mould also serve as bases for graduate study. German and French, for instance, rather than less useful languages, were included; and at least two years of college mathematics and a year of physics. The other matter was about the next year: graduate school or job? The decision mas the student's;, the staff's hopes were toward graduate study. If the student wavered or wondered, it was explained to him that the higher long-range profits were offered by the graduate program, in spite of the immediate job-pay. When graduate study was elected, careful thought was given to "where." The student's affection for a particu!ar
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division of chemistry was weighed against general reputations and publication records. Scholarship and assistantship stipends and living expenses were discussed. Again, the student made the final choice. Then the applications were prepared. A letter, usually from Haldeman, to the university or universities in question, would let them know we had a prospect, and would bring the application forms. Filling in the latter was minutely and personally supervised by Haldeman. If a letter from the applicant was in order, he had to write a trial draft for criticism from our staff. (It is surprising to see how much many otherwise good students need t o learn abont the art of writing an application.) A photograph was taken, and with the applicant wearing a business suit rather than a turtle-neck sweater! Appropriate recommendations were solicited in writing. Forms were made for the student's convenience in doing this, so that the prospective recommender could know where and to whom the letter should go; if it should be separately mailed or sent with other materials; and when it should be on its way. Telegraph, telephone, and personal interviews were used when expedient. Recommendations were realistic. It is axiomatic among students that Haldeman inclines to generosity with his money, but stinginess with undeserved recommendations. Thispolicyissometimeshardonanindividual laggard student, but is better for the employer, and for the next good student that might be moved in that direction. An item in the recommendations was, where possible, cooperative-test percentiles. These we thought t o be even more meaningful than local grades. Class rank as well as grade in a chemistry course was usually provided. Personal qualities, honesty, etc., were emphasized. Withdrawals of all unaccepted applications were made immediately after acceptance of one. Financial considerations were frankly faced. Very often a problem of this nature was solved by a personal loan of money from Haldeman to the student in the early days of this program. By the time the student had reached this stage, Haldeman knew him thoroughly and felt competent to judge his reliability; and the judgment was entirely in Haldeman's hands, free of the inevitable confusions of a bureaucratic disbursement of scholarships. By putting in all his liquid assets, plus some money which he himself borrowed, Haldeman had a t one time as much as $6000 out in long-time lowinterest loans. As the first borrowers repaid, and as graduate stipends became larger, this circulating fund shrank, finally t o nothing. The amount of money, though large for one college teacher, is not large for an institution, and perhaps some foundations, existing or prospective, may find useful information in the results of this experience. A11 Haldeman's loans were repaid, and some with truly remarkable promptness. Very often the value of a laboratory experiment is lost because there is no writenp. From the first and through the years, careful writeups were maintained in
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
this continuing experiment in human chemical engineering. A modest annual newsletter has evolved into a neatly printed pamphlet, issued now a t abont fiveyear intervals, stating where each chemical alumnus is, for whom he is working, and telling briefly of hisfamily. Summaries indicate the variety of jobs held, publications made, graduate stipends offered, war activities. The names are indexed. The booklet is sent t o each alumnus of the department. Previous to each revision, a questionnaire is sent also to each, and followups made if necessary. Every available avenue is used to get information about those who fail to reply. Painstaking care is expended to make the book accurate, and it has been found, by the way, t o be a useful document to include with recommendations; it gives an idea of the caliber of the work of the person recommended, to a person who may not have heard of our school. The directory is supplemented by mimeographed newsletters, sent out annually. Although the original discussion centered about men who become Ph.D.'s in chemistry, there are other types of students among our majors, and these are given equally careful attention. The above-mentioned alumni directory tabulates especially medical degrees. Women graduates are represented in a variety of technical situations. Moreover, students are taken to meetings of convenient sections of the American Chemical Society, and the State Academy of Science. They are also taken in fairly large groups to centers of chemical industry within a two-hundred mile radius. Alumni and other friends volunteered to finance these travels. To them we owe much, as well as to the vast aggregate of courtesy and cooperation from the host institutions and industries. A bulletin-board display of career opportunities [See Chem. & Eng. News,28, 1274 (1950)], and career conferences are part of our present stimulation program. In summary, Monmonth's method, developed by Haldeman and carried through today essentially on lines he laid down, stresses individual contact, personal acquaintance, systematic stimulation, and help of whatever sort may be needed in the particular situation. It is evident that all of the items in this program are reproducible, except possibly the financial situation. Graduate appointments were fewer, and less remunerative in relationship t o the standard of living, when Monmouth was laying the foundation for the success indicated in Lewis' (Zoc. cit.) Table 4. Also, Haldeman was willing to risk his own personal saving entirely on the venture. I n later years, the main ingredients of the Monmouth program have been: (a) early alertness for promising material, (b) persistent presentation of the opportunities to students, (c) careful and frequent, counselling, involving personal as well as technical factors, (d) pushing the candidate to initiate action and follow through, as needed, and (e) keeping records and disseminating information about placements to t h e alumni themselves, and others.
