Chemical Education Today
ACS Presidential Election
Education as a Top Priority for the American Chemical Society by Josef Michl
Education has been the primary concern for the ACS, and will surely remain so for the foreseeable future. The Division of Chemical Education and the Journal of Chemical Education are critically important components of the endeavor. Why the emphasis on education? Obviously, (i) we all desire first-class educational opportunities for chemistry professionals. However, equally important, (ii) the quality of our lives and the well-being of our country, especially in the coming era of transition to the use of renewable energy, depend on science in general and chemistry in particular, yet the general population is hardly aware of it. This calls for improved chemistry education of people who are or will be in all walks of life, including the media and politics. (iii) We took manufacturing jobs from Europe a long time ago and now we are losing them to developing parts of the world. The only effective way to respond to this natural course of events is to replace the jobs that are being exported by newly created ones. We therefore must advance and innovate in science and technology and for this we need a constant renewal in education. (iv) One of our country’s responses to recent traumatic events was to restrict the flow of international students into our institutions of higher education. I believe that this merely compounded the damage and that the trend needs to be reversed. (v) In addition to importing bright young minds, we need to do more to tap the dormant talent among our youth, especially underrepresented groups. My wife of nearly 40 years says that I have only one virtue and she cannot remember what it is. I suspect that the one good trait is enthusiasm. I have taught undergraduate and graduate chemistry for as long as I have been married. I am enjoying this privilege more than ever, and believe that it is central to the role that the ACS plays in the world. I say the world intentionally, not only our own country. Science has always been international, but in today’s globalizing environment it is particularly evident that it transcends national borders. I have close contacts with numerous chemists abroad and have served in various functions in IUPAC. I chair a National Academy of Sciences committee charged with identifying under appreciated foreign scientists from less well known countries and nominating them for election as Foreign Associates. I am a member of the NAS Human Rights committee, whose activities transcend national borders. For a quarter century, I have edited Chemical Reviews, the highest impact factor journal in chemistry, half of whose authors are from abroad. I have been privileged to give invited scientific lectures in 35 countries in six languages. In some, I have given public lectures, talked in middle and high schools, on public radio and television. For years, I have had funding from the National Science Foundation and from industry to send nearly all of my graduate and some undergraduate students, as well as many students from other universities, for research stays abroad. They invariably loved them and benefitted considerably. I have organized workshops and conferences in Europe and South America in which dozens of U.S. students participated. Much is already being done by the ACS, the Division of
Chemical Education, and the local sections. For instance, the Northeastern Section has an active student exchange program with the German GDCh. Let us transform the existing wealth of experience and best practices into an integrated and cohesive whole on a national and then, international, scale. Some of the current activities that I would promote are the “learning as- Josef Michl sistant” program that fosters undergraduate education and develops interest in the teaching profession, and the “retired chemist mentor” program, in which experienced industrial scientists talk with high school students. Each individual initiative may appear to be minor (more demonstrations in high school classes, more Science Fairs and Chemistry Days, more chemistry exhibits in museums, etc.), but the sum will be significant. We should integrate the results within the ACS, and increasingly, share them with other professional societies, the National Academies, the AAAS, various foundation, and internationally, with chemical societies of other nations and through IUPAC. I would encourage efforts to fund international exchanges, especially for young scientists, through the NSF, other funding agencies, and industry. The GAFOS, RISE, and CS3 ACS–GDCh–RSC programs involving Germany and Great Britain can serve as models. I would work closely with the chemical industry, which has been traditionally eager to support education. I would miss no opportunity to appear at congressional hearings and to work with Congress. I would support initiatives aimed at making it easier for foreign scientists to obtain a visa to work and study in the U.S. Along with the president of the NAS and other scientific leaders I would try to make sure that the initiatives for preparing science teachers and for teaching science at the K–12 level envisaged in the American competitiveness act are fully funded. I would encourage all ACS members to join the Legislative Action Network. I would support efforts to establish advocacy groups for science and especially chemistry at the state level, as is now being attempted in California and Arkansas. If elected, I will be eager to use my national and international experience to work with all of you to promote chemical education. Please visit michlforacspresident.colorado.edu (accessed Jul 2008). Supporting JCE Online Material
http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2008/Oct/abs1339.html Abstract and keywords Full text (PDF) with links to cited URL
Josef Michl is a member of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0215;
[email protected].
© Division of Chemical Education • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • Vol. 85 No. 10 October 2008 • Journal of Chemical Education
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