Chemical Education Today
Letters Research at Two-Year Colleges
The author replies:
Onofrio Gaglione has written a timely and convincing article that advocates for conducting undergraduate research at two-year colleges (1). My own background is similar to Gaglione’s. I moved from a four-year to a two-year institution 17 years ago—a move I do not regret. It is true that good teaching is the thrust at two-year colleges. Teaching loads are often heavy, especially in laboratory sciences, which are very labor intensive. I have found, however, that talking up student research often stirs students to try it. Good science does not always require a large amount of funding. With some ingenuity and some entreaty, interesting independent projects can be developed. Students who have participated in such activities in the past have gone on to fascinating careers in university research and teaching, the government (FBI), or private companies, where they usually rise to key positions. Some of my students are now doing postdoctoral work in neuroscience, working in government intelligence, designing hydraulic lifts, or performing quality control in cosmetic industries. Topics of some of the projects undertaken under my guidance are: Investigating the Properties of a Shape Memory Alloy; The Effects of Glucosamine and Chondroitin on Cartilage; Oolong and Green Teas: Do They Reduce Cholesterol?; An Analysis of Substances Used in Crime Investigation; Protein Folding Studies; Hyperthermia in Cancer Treatment; Molecular Modeling of Chemotherapeutic Drugs from Pyrethrum Flowers. Often, striking a balance between student interest and areas that fascinate me is enough to begin a small-scale project. I am certainly an advocate of undergraduate research participation. I believe that it enhances learning and it stimulates both students and the instructor in the novel, cutting edges, of science.
Since the publication of my article in this Journal (1), I have received several letters from faculty at two-year colleges who have been advocating research projects for students at the associate-degree level. Recent articles on this topic published in this Journal by D. Brown (2) and in Chemical & Engineering News by R. Petkewich (3) have also stimulated other instructors at community and junior colleges to report their research activities. The recurrent theme of these letters and articles is that student retention is enhanced and that undergraduate transitions to baccalaureate and graduate programs in the chemical sciences are improved when students conduct research while attending two-year colleges. Some have even found that research projects can be used as a recruitment strategy for both high school and in-house students to encourage them to seek chemistry as a course of study beginning at the two-year college and continuing to graduate school. Others have sought to install undergraduate research into the curriculum via projects that are initially funded by external sources with the intention that they eventually become systemic. Slezak’s letter adds to this advocacy for such research projects in a very positive way and may encourage two-year college faculty without external funding support to continue to try to engage their students in a meaningful research experience prior to transferring into a baccalaureate program. The ACS Western Regional meeting scheduled for Las Vegas on September 24–27, 2008 will include a 2YC3 symposium that will feature the theme “Challenges and Benefits of Undergraduate Research in Two-Year Colleges”. A call for papers and a meeting notice for this 2YC 3 symposium is available online at: http://www.2yc3.org/Meetings/default.htm (accessed Apr 2007).
Literature Cited 1. Gaglione, Onofrio. J. Chem. Educ. 2005, 82, 1613–1614. Jane Slezak
Journal of Chemical Education
1. Gaglione, O. J. Chem. Educ. 2005, 82, 1613–1614. 2. Brown, D. J. Chem. Educ. 2006, 83, 970–972. 3. Petkewich, R. Chem. Eng. News 2006, 84, 53–54. Onofrio G. Gaglione
Department of Chemistry Fulton–Montgomery Community College Johnstown, NY 12095-3790
[email protected] 1108
Literature Cited
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Vol. 84 No. 7 July 2007
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