Chemical Education Today edited by Ann Cartwright San Jacinto College, Central Campus Division of Science & Mathematics Pasadena, TX 77501-2007
Association Report: 2YC3
The Future of Chemistry Is All of Us by Paul H. L. Walter
It is a pleasure to have this opportunity affirming the ACS’s appreciation for the role you play as faculty from two-year colleges in preparing the next generation of scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. In particular, I salute the efforts of 2YC3 in reaching out to the diverse groups of students who are studying at your institutions, including older students, female students, minority, and immigrant students. The quality of the conferences you organize, and their geographic accessibility to your more than 700 members, have resulted in catalyzing professional development and growth among two-year college chemistry faculty, and thus improving the quality of instruction delivered to your students. Since the first junior college was founded in 1901, the two-year college system has grown significantly, with a particularly large growth spurt occurring in the 1960s. Today, two-year colleges enroll about 46% of all U.S. undergraduates at over 1,100 two-year colleges. You provide a significant entry point into higher education for many diverse groups of students choosing careers in science, math, and engineering—especially minority students. Ten percent of all of those who earned a Ph.D. in science and engineering between 1991 and 1995 had begun their undergraduate education at a two-year institution. For Hispanics with a Ph.D., the number rises to 14%, and for Native Americans, the number is 16%. By 1991, some 39% of science, math, and engineering baccalaureate graduates also initially attended twoyear colleges. A still higher percentage was from underrepresented minorities. In addition, 40% of all science and math teachers start their higher education in two-year colleges. For minority teachers, the number is probably in excess of 50%. Of course, we are especially concerned about the achievements of minorities in sciences because minorities are the fastest growing sector of our populace and, at the same time, they are underrepresented in scientific careers. If we, as a nation, are to maintain our economic competitive edge into the next century, we cannot afford to waste the talents of so many, able members of our society. I would like to share information on some ACS programs that can impact chemistry programs at two-year colleges. The ACS is proud of the efforts we have made as a society to address these concerns. For many students, particularly minorities, the costs of a college education, even at a two-year college, are a barrier to continuing full-time study. In 1995, the ACS instituted its ACS Scholars Program, directed toward students from ethnic groups underrepresented in science. This program awards up to $15,000 in scholarship aid over a four-year period to 600
minority students who are committed to studying the chemical sciences or engineering. High school students entering college (including a two-year college) and college students who are already in higher education (again including twoyear colleges) are eligible. Not only do we provide these young people with financial support, but we make every effort to link students with mentors, thus providing them with needed personal and academic support. For minority students who begin at a two-year college and intend to transfer to another institution, the role of mentor may turn possible failure into spectacular success. Recruiting minority students into scientific careers initially depends on the quality of science instruction they receive at the precollege level. As mentioned previously, the twoyear college serves as the first exposure for many future teachers, particularly minority teachers. The two-year system is likely to play an ever-increasing role in the professional development of new teachers and in the retraining of existing teachers who perhaps have little or no background in science. In 1998, the NSF specifically recognized the important role of two-year institutions in preparing science and math teachers by holding a conference on this topic. Two-year institutions are already participating in a number of NSF-funded teacher collaboratives for excellence in teacher preparation. The community colleges involved serve a high percentage of minority students, including African-Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics. Another important role of the two-year college is to prepare the technicians of tomorrow by offering associate degree programs, many of them developed with local industries. The ACS has been involved in technician education for many years. Most recently, the report “Foundations for Excellence in the Chemical Process Industries”, is one outcome of an ACS project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, aimed at identifying “voluntary industry skill standards” for the chemical process industries. In all, the Foundations report presents 1,025 industry-based competencies contained within 113 skill development modules, covering 14 critical job functions. The ACS has used these standards to revise the guidelines of our Chemical Technology Program Approval Service (CTPAS), which helps ensure that two-year colleges are graduating students who are well-prepared for employment in local, chemical-based industries. In addition, two-year colleges across the U.S. are currently implementing the standards in a number of ways, primarily by working within “local alliances”—partnerships among business, education, labor, government, and community leaders. Already, nearly a dozen known local alliances are engaged in the implementation of these standards. The development of such alliances between academe and industry will benefit all students enrolled in the local twoyear college. The alliances may also help support the entry
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 76 No. 5 May 1999 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
Chemical Education Today
Association Report: 2YC3
of more minority students into technician careers when industries offer to deserving minority students scholarships and work, either part-time or during the summer. A number of two-year colleges provide bridging programs into the technician curriculum. These “Tech-Prep” programs, which begin in the final two years of high school and conclude after two years in a community college, may also provide short-term adult training and retraining or further articulation with a four-year institution. The Tech-Prep model is but one example of a “bridging” program that helps under-prepared students make a successful transition into higher education. Finally, I would like to mention another important ACS program which might be particularly useful—the College Chemistry Consultants Service. This service, which has been in operation for some thirty years, provides a listing of consultants who can assist colleges and universities address a wide range of issues. Many of the consultants come from two-year colleges, and many have special expertise in recruiting and retaining minority students. Although there is a charge for the service, the ACS does have special funding available for minority and two-year institutions. These consultants can: • •
help with the CTPAS approval process; identify funding sources and assist with proposal writing;
• • •
provide input into instructional reform, including efforts to adapt instruction to a diverse student population; help assist in curriculum reform, including the development of multicultural science curricula; support efforts to recruit and retain minority students and give input into facilities planning.
Clearly, the future of chemistry is all of us, whoever we may be—male or female, white or minority, industry, government, school, college, or university, at whatever level we work—as administrators, teachers, researchers, or technicians. The two-year colleges of this country, with their historic mission, their diverse student enrollment, and their contributions to quality teaching, are uniquely able to contribute to the realization of this vision of the unity and inclusiveness of the chemical enterprise. I congratulate two-year colleges on their achievements, and wish them every success in meeting the challenges of the next century. Taken from a speech by Paul H. L. Walter, President of ACS during 1998, at the Two-Year Chemistry Conference, November, 1998, Jacksonville, Florida. Paul H. L. Walter is at 3 Benedictine Retreat, Savannah, GA 31411-1624; phone: 912/ 598-1051; fax: 912/598-0913; email:
[email protected].
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