Early Career Chemistry Education Scholars Fall 2026

Consent Agenda published Aug 3 2026 by Michelle Herridge
Report Period
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Introduction

The Early Career Chemistry Education Scholars (ECCES) are a committee dedicated to the recruitment and networking of graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early faculty members (pre-tenure if on tenure track) in chemistry education research. This population is vital to the long-term goals of chemistry education research, and we hope will be the future leaders and contributors to DivCHED.

Information Since Last Report

Since our last report, we have accomplished the following items:

  1. Meeting on March 22, 2026
    1. Approved the 2026 budget submission
    2. Planned for Spring 2026 ACS National Meeting
    3. Planned for 2026 BCCE in Madison, WI (see below)
    4. Reflected on committee personnel and term requirements
  2. Organized events for BCCE 2026 in Madison, WI:
    1. Social Event
      1. Saturday, July 25
      2. Approximately 45 attendees
    2. Birds of a Feathers
      1. Grad students 
        1. Sunday, July 26
        2. Approximately 75 participants
        3. We facilitated Networking Bingo and encouraged people to participate by entering people who got a "bingo" into a raffle for books. We used this opportunity to encourage attendees to join DivCHED if they are not already members.
      2. Post-docs and early career faculty
        1. Monday, July 27
        2. Approximately 35 participants
        3. We facilitated small group discussions and encouraged people to participate by entering people who were there into a raffle for books. We used t his opportunity to encourage attendees to join DivCHED if they are not already members.
      3. Raffled donated books
        1. Approximately 25 donations
        2. Donations from faculty listed on the CER website
    3. Workshops
      1. Preparing Application Materials and Navigating Academic Job Searches Workshop
        1. Monday, July 27
        2. Approximately 20 participants
        3. Guest speakers: Renee Cole & Resa Kelly
      2. Navigating the Publication Process: Journals, Writing, and Peer Review Workshop
        1. Wednesday, July 29
        2. Approximately 20 participants
        3. Guest speakers: Scott Lewis & Norb Pienta
      3. Subsidized by ECCES/DivCHED ($5 discount per participant)
    4. Graduate Student Symposia
      1. Fixing Systems, Not People
        1. Tuesday, July 28
        2. Approximately 16 presenters
      2. Engaging in Scholarly Teaching
        1. Wednesday, July 29
        2. Approximately 15 presenters
      3. Centering Authentic Phenomena
        1. Thursday, July 30
        2. Approximately 12 presenters
Future Plans

Our committee is planning to organize and host the Chemistry Education Research Graduate Student Symposia at the Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 ACS meetings.  We will have another committee meeting on Sunday, August 23, virtually. The committee anticipates hosting a virtual Grad Student & Postdoc Conference in summer 2027. We expect to fill 3-5 committee spots starting in 2027. 

Did your committee request funding from DivCHED in the past budget year?
Yes
YES: Enter amount received with any comments.

$300 - Networking Event for ACS Spring Meeting

$1500 - Travel budget for ECCES members to go to ACS Spring Meeting

$200 - BoaF Social event at BCCE

$500 - Networking Event for BCCE

$200 - Subsidizing workshop costs for graduate students at BCCE

$1500 - Travel budget for ECCES members to go to BCCE

Total: $4200

What did you do with this funding in the past year?

See above

What were the outcomes of the activities funded by your allocation?

Approximately 110+ unique participants at BCCE 2026 events; see more details above

Committee members attended both ACS Spring Meeting and BCCE 2026 as a result of our funding

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