provocative opinion The Sophist Expounds on Chemical Education Jack L. Hedrick Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA 17022
During the past 10 or 15 years when I've chatted with Henry Bent, our conversations degenerated rapidly from lofty discussions of "time's arrow" to the more plebeian topic of basketball. Henry was a t North Carolina State when the Wolfpack now and again won a NCAAchampionship. He is a firm believer in bragging rights. I maintain that during most of those same years the Elizabetbtown Jaygals floored better teams than N.C. State. These women constituted one of the most dominant basketball teams in the country during the nine complete seasons between 1980 and 1989. In the parlance of sports commentators, Coach Yvonne Kauffman's Jaygals were a "veritable powerhouse". These are strong assertions that need some justification. I offer this synopsis. During those nine seasons, the Jaygals had a won-lost record of 225-33. They won the national championship in 1982, the first year the tournament was conducted, finished second in 1983 and 1984, then won it again in 1989. You may have heard of Michael, Magic, and Kareem. How about Page Lutz? She was voted national player of the year in 1984. Jane Meyer? She received the same honor in 1986. I hope you will agree that this is an outstanding record, outstanding enough to give you pause as to why you never before heard of Coach Kauffman, her teams, or these two outstanding players. I offer two reasons. Curiously, both find parallels in the criticism of the education of undergraduate chemistry majors. Reason 1. Big Time versus Small Potatoes North Carolina State competes in what the NCAA classifies as Division I, Elizabethtown in Division 111. What's the difference? If you think it refers to size you are correct only secondarily. The major differenceis that Division I institutions award athletic scholarships. Those in Division 111 do not. A consequence of this is that Division I institutions receive "media scholarships". Division I consists of medium-sized and large universities that elect to follow the path of scholarships and big time scheduling to the athletic promised land. The modern equivalent of the ark of the covenant is the television contract. The names of these institutions are best learned by watching television during the fall and winter months culminating in that Avogadro's number of Bowl games and the Final Four. The backbone of Division 111is the small. private, liberal arts college. There are five such institutions in my ACS section that appear on the ACS-CPT approved list: Dickinson, Elizabe
