"I hope by enacting a suggestion form that we will receive good feedback and that we find items that we can act on in our strategic planning work. So please, send us your suggestions, we will be better for it."
-Resa Kelly, DivCHED Chair Elect
The year 2023 marks the 100th volume of the Journal of Chemical Education. So far this year there have been several collections highlighting 100 years of teaching and learning that have posted as Virtual Issues, with more to come. Editorials in the Journal itself have pointed to 100 years of teaching Analytical Chemistry (February Issue), Biochemistry (April Issue), Inorganic Chemistry (June Issue), Organic Chemistry (June Issue). A focus on Physical Chemistry, Chemistry Education Research, High School Chemistry and Chemistry Outreach will round out the year of these special Virtual Issues.
Another upcoming event will be held at the ACS National Meeting in San Francisco. The Symposium “Celebrating 100 Years of the Journal of Chemical Education” will take place on Sunday, August 13, with two half day sessions in room 2001 of the West building at the Moscone Center. The lineup will cover a range of ways that the Journal has served the Chemistry Education community. Here’s the listing of participants…
Co-Presiders:
Presenters (in order):
Morning session
Afternoon session
In addition to the set of talks that explore the many ways the Journal contributes to the dissemination of innovation in the teaching and learning of chemistry, the afternoon break will provide a chance to celebrate. With the break starting at 3:35 pm (still in room 2001) there will be drinks and cake. If you are attending the San Francisco meeting, please drop in during the break and enjoy some cake to celebrate the past century of publishing chemistry education articles – and look forward to the next century of excellence.
The DivCHED Safety Committee welcomes anyone at any experience level with an interest in safety education. Our vision is of education that embeds accurate chemical safety instruction at all educational levels, and our mission is to provide resources and strategies to chemical and science educators in order to prepare chemists and others to function safely while using chemicals. We typically meet in conjunction with the Fall and Spring meetings of the ACS. If you are interested in safety education and interested in getting involved, you are welcome to attend our committee meetings, or contact the Committee chair and he will try to connect you with appropriate people and projects.
Members of the Safety Committee work on a range of projects at the intersection of safety and education. These include collaborative projects with other components of the ACS, always with a focus on bringing the education perspective to safety issues, and the safety perspective to educational issues. We are excited to begin new collaborative efforts within the ACS Office of Safety Programs and our safety partners throughout the Society.
The Safety Committee welcomes safety symposia programming at national and regional meetings about safety in education. We will be sponsoring a symposium at the Spring 2024 ACS meeting and the 2024 BCCE; if you are interested in organizing a safety symposia please contact Steve Wietstock (swietsto@nd.edu). Some of our members have also presented at regional meetings and we are open to sharing some of those materials if you are developing programming for your area. If there is something you have particular need or interest in, please reach out to the Safety Committee to share your thoughts.
The Division of Chemical Education’s mission is driven by the dedication of valued volunteers who serve in elected leadership and appointed committee roles. We believe that every member's contribution is vital to our success, and we invite you to become an integral part of the DivCHED community.
The Committee on Personnel & Nominations (CPN) plays a crucial role in nominating DivCHED members for leadership opportunities and committee service. Our goal is to foster an inclusive environment that welcomes members from all educational partners, including K-12, Two-year colleges, PUIs, R1 universities and affiliated institutions. We aim to match qualified individuals with service opportunities that align with their interests, skill sets, and that will benefit the Division as a whole.
If you're eager to make a difference and contribute to the Division's growth, we encourage you to complete the Get-Involved nomination form. Through the nomination form, you have the opportunity to share why you're interested in getting involved and highlight your qualifications. The CPN regularly reviews submissions, so we encourage you to submit your nominations by the following deadlines:
Some committees may have limited vacancies, so If you're not immediately contacted, keep trying, as new opportunities may arise. For more information or if you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us at Nominations@divched.org
We value your interest and look forward to your involvement in shaping the future of the Division of Chemical Education. Let's work together to make a meaningful impact and foster excellence in chemical education!
Greetings from the Biennial Conference Committee (BCC)! In this year between BCCEs, the committee has been busy at work making recommendations for improvements for future BCCEs, including identifying a new abstract submission system, a new conference management system, and a new conference app. The 2024 BCCE Organizing Team (General Chair: Allison Soult) are working to make the integration of these new systems seamless as they continue their preparations for their meeting at the University of Kentucky (information below). Meanwhile, the University of Wisconsin-Madison 2026 BCCE Organizing Team is working with the BCC to develop and approve the Memorandum of Understanding and final budget for their meeting.
Finally, while the 2028 BCCE may seem a long way off, the Biennial Conference Committee is currently looking for potential hosts for that meeting. In fact, Letters of Intent to host the 2028 meeting are due December 15, 2023, with full proposals to be submitted the following spring. There are resources available here that provide additional guidance on hosting a BCCE and preparing a proposal. If you have any interest in potentially hosting the 2028 BCCE or have questions about what type of information belongs in a Letter of Intent or full proposal to host the meeting, please feel free to contact either of the BCC Co-Chairs.
| Renée Cole | MaryKay Orgill |
| BCC Co-Chair | BCC Co-Chair |
| renee-cole@uiowa.edu | marykay.orgill@unlv.edu |
Save the Date: July 28-August 1, 2024.
Location: University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
We look forward to welcoming you to our beautiful campus and diverse community. Attendees staying on campus will be staying in modern dorms with full size beds (and Tempur-Pedic mattresses!). Dining will be in Champions Kitchen, which provides a variety of options including vegetarian/vegan options and items in an allergy-free zone. The conference website is now live at http://bcce.divched.org/ and updates will be made as information becomes available. Sponsorship and exhibitor information will be posted soon.
Want to find out more about Lexington and the surrounding areas? Check out the links below. Whether you like horses, music, outdoors, arts, bourbon, or good food, there is something in Kentucky for you! We look forward to welcoming everyone to Lexington next year.
Lexington Visitor’s Center https://www.visitlex.com
Kentucky Tourism https://www.kentuckytourism.com/
“Taking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse, isn’t it? If you’re comfortable while you’re doing it, you’re probably doing it wrong.” – Ted Lasso
With the upcoming ACS National meeting in San Francisco, I am working on preparations for the Strategic Planning work the Division will soon undertake. My first task was to construct an application form to allow our members and stakeholders a way to apply for this work. A link to the application form will be sent to you soon after the ACS Fall meeting and it will also be available through our Division’s website. In addition, a letter will go out to our members and stakeholders to provide an overview of the Strategic Planning process and how to apply with the link. Please be on the lookout for this and more importantly, please consider applying!
To prepare for strategic planning, a taskforce has been appointed to develop a list of recommendations for action the Division and members of the future strategic planning committee should consider in their work to foster community, equity, inclusion, and access within the Division. This is an important first step toward building a more equitable and inclusive community, and I look forward to the taskforce’s progress report at the fall meeting.
Apart from this taskforce, I have noticed that a few people have wanted to meet with me or members of the chair succession to share strategic planning suggestions they deem important for consideration, and I wondered if perhaps there are more people who have ideas that they would like to share? For those of you who are Ted Lasso fans, you might recall from season 1 that a suggestion box was constructed to get “constructive feedback” from the team. In the show, they made this fun by offering a cute box and I wish we could have an actual box, but I think the best we can do to match this is to make a “cute” online form. Also, in the show, the coaches anticipated good feedback and they looked for items that they could act on, for example, fixing the shower pressure. In a similar format, I hope by enacting a suggestion form that we will receive good feedback and that we find items that we can act on in our strategic planning work. So please, send us your suggestions, we will be better for it.
This is my last note as part of the Chair Succession, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all members of the Division of Chemical Education who have supported our work in the past three years. When I was first elected to the Chair position, I was not aware of the large number of dedicated volunteers who sustain the activities of the multiple committees in our Division. I want to acknowledge their commitment and passion in building a strong and connected chemical education community.
I am particularly grateful to Dawn de Carlo and Stacey Lowery Bretz, who showed me the ropes in their roles as Chairs and served as great role models to try to emulate. I would also like to recognize the amazing support from Cathy Middlecamp and Rick Moog, who manage the finances of the Division with a very steady hand. It has also been great to work with Kim (Linnenberger) Cortes, current Chair, and Resa Kelly, elected Chair, who have exciting views about the future of CHED. Last, but not least, I want to thank Heather Johnson, the Executive Assistant for the Division, for all the multiple ways in which she facilitates divisional activities.
In the past three years, the many CHED volunteers have accomplished a great deal. Besides sustaining the many activities of our diverse committees, the BCCE at Purdue University brought us together in person again to an incredibly successful conference with over 1,300 attendees, led by General Chair Marcy Towns. Many thanks to MaryKay Orgill and Renee Cole, who served as chairs of the Biennal Conference Committee. In this period, the Division also endowed the Pimentel Award with the shared support of the Board of Publications under the leadership of Maria Oliver-Hoyo. This award will continue recognizing the work of outstanding educators who contribute to advancing chemical education in the US and across the world. During this time, the Board of Publications ensured that the operations of the Journal of Chemical Education became fully supported by ACS publication, and the Board of Trustees led by Alex Grushow successfully steered the ACS Exam Institute under the leadership of Kristen Murphy through the difficult times created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are living through complex times in which we are facing global socioenvironmental challenges. Chemistry education research and practice are expected to play a key role in helping prepare a diverse pool of individuals who can help us address these issues. This will require major transformations in how we conceptualize and implement chemistry education at all educational levels. I am certain that CHED can steer us through these challenging times by opening opportunities for reflection and paths for action. I look forward to collaborating in these exciting future endeavors.
Sincerely,
Vicente Talanquer
vicente@arizona.edu
Hello from Hotlanta! Hopefully you have been able to find some relief from the hottest July on record. My apologies for just now introducing myself to you as I welcomed my third child in March just prior to the Spring meeting. As the new school year is fast approaching (or already begun), I find myself in a state of reflection and renewal. I have been a member of the DivCHED for 16 years and in this community have found beloved mentors, dear friends, and treasured colleagues. I have also been provided the opportunity to develop my teaching, research, mentorship, and leadership skills. The Division of Chemical Education is most definitely a place where I have firmly planted roots and I was able to grow and flourish! My hope for all of our members is that you have a similar experience no matter what area of our field you identify, we have a place for you to come, plant your roots and grow.
If you are not currently involved in one of our many committees and would like to be, please join us in our upcoming meetings, reach out to committee chairs to volunteer or nominate yourself to be a formal member of a committee. I would like to personally welcome all our members to join the open session of the DivCHED Executive Committee virtual meeting on Saturday, August 12 at 1:30pm PST. As a member of our Division your presence and voice are always welcome at this meeting and it is a great way to get to know what is happening and ways you can get involved. For those attending the fall meeting in San Francisco, please be sure to check out the excellent CHED programming! I’ve highlighted below just a few of the variety of ways that DivCHED members contribute to the success of our division and additional ways you can too. Please be sure to read the entirety of our newsletter for more detailed information about your Division of Chemical Education.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Cortes
klinenbe@kennesaw.edu
Happy 100th Birthday to the Journal of Chemical Education!
2024 marks exactly 100 years since the first issue of the Journal of Chemical Education! The Journal of Chemical Education is celebrating this milestone all year including the recent release of a virtual issue on 100 years of Teaching and Learning: Organic Chemistry. Additionally, Tom Holme (Editor of JCE) has organized a celebratory hybrid symposium for the fall 2023 meeting: “Celebrating 100 Years of the Journal of Chemical Education.” Please mark your calendar for Sunday, August 13 to celebrate this momentous occasion, to reminisce with colleagues, and to be inspired about what the next century might bring for the dissemination of chemistry education!
DivCHED Strategic Planning
As we reestablish ourselves as a Division post-pandemic, this fall we are asking committees and membership to reflect on DivCHED strengths and areas for improvement. This will be in preparation for the important work of a new strategic plan for the Division which will be led by Resa Kelly (Chair-Elect). Please read the information from Resa for ways in which you can be a part of this effort.
San Francisco (Fall 2023) Governance Meetings
A reminder that most CHED Governance Meetings will be virtual for the fall 2023 national meeting. Governance committees will convene the weekend of August 12-13, 2023. Committees will meet at their long-standing “regular” times, using the San Francisco Pacific time zone. Please visit DivCHED.org for information on how to register to receive the zoom link(s) for the committee meetings you wish to attend.
Travel Awards are BACK!!!
As conferences are getting back to in-person and requiring us to move away from our couches, DivCHED is once again offering financial support for travel to the spring National ACS meeting and to international chemical education conferences held outside the United States. Additionally, there are funds available to support travel for professional development of faculty at smaller institutions to attend workshops to enhance their teaching skills. The application deadlines for the DivCHED Travel Award, the DivCHED International Travel Award, and the Passer Education Grants are fast approaching so please be sure to check them out and apply if you meet the requirements.
AACT Representative
Congratulations to Michael Mury on his appointment to the AACT (American Association of Chemistry Teachers) Governing Board! He teaches and is a high school science curriculum specialist at Polk County Public Schools in Florida. Michael served during 2022/2023 and was reappointed by the Chair of the ACS Board of Directors for a second, 1-year term for 2023/2024.
CHED Elections
The Division of Chemical Education will be holding elections this fall. Please read the information from Jennifer Lewis, our CHED Secretary, for details on the ballot and how to vote.
Get (Re)Engaged
If you are looking to become more involved in DivCHED here are some good places to start:
Calls for programming will soon be coming out for the spring 2024 National ACS meeting in New Orleans and the 2024 BCCE hosted at University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. Please consider organizing a symposium, hosting a workshop, or submitting an abstract.
If you are looking for a way to participate in the DivCHED on a more local level, you may want to consider getting involved with our Regional Meetings Committee to help support DivCHED programming at all of our Regional ACS meetings.
If assessment is your interest, get involved with the ACS Examinations Institute. There are many opportunities for involvement at various levels with the ACSEI including volunteering to sit on an exam writing committee or trial testing exams, or becoming an Institute Fellow or Postdoctoral Fellow.
You may also consider partaking in the centennial celebration of JCE and submitting a manuscript for publication or becoming a reviewer. To become a reviewer visit https://acs.manuscriptcentral.com/acs/ and follow the directions for registering as a new user. Once you have entered the general information, remember to select the Journal of Chemical Education and select keywords that represent your expertise.