“Saludos a todos” from Tucson, Arizona! I do hope that all of you are doing well in these challenging times. As we move into the spring, there are hopeful signs for the ending of the COVID pandemic, but our hearts are saddened by yet one more unnecessary war that is likely to destroy the hopes and lives of too many people in Ukraine. We stand in solidarity with the members of our community who are affected by senseless acts of violence in the world. Despite the challenges we face, I hope you will attend the San Diego meeting, either in-person or virtually, and participate in the rich and diverse sessions on chemistry education included in the program. Through this past year, your elected leaders and the many volunteers for the Division of Chemical Education have been working together throughout the pandemic to sustain initiatives that support our vibrant community. Below is a summary of just some of what has happened in recent months. Please be sure to read the entirety of our newsletter for more detailed updates!

Sincerely,
Vicente Talanquer
vicente@arizona.edu

Thank You!

I want to begin with a big THANK YOU to both Dawn DelCarlo and Stacey Lowery Bretz for their exceptional leadership. Dawn completed her 3-year term in the Chair Succession where she did an outstanding job leading the Division through the many challenges that the COVID pandemic brought to her shores. Stacey completed her year of service as Chair in 2021 and is currently serving as Immediate Past Chair. I have been in awe at Stacey’s organization vision and capacity as she worked to build an organizational framework that facilitates access to information that is critical to run our Division. As a new Chair, my job is now greatly facilitated by the structures that Stacey worked hard to put in place. Thank you, Stacey!

Welcome!

Please take a moment to welcome colleagues to their new (or reappointed) roles here in the Division of Chemical Education! Thanks to all for generously offering your leadership! If you’re looking to get involved in DivCHED by offering your time and talents, please click here for information on how to volunteer. Kimberly (Linenberger) Cortes begins a 3-year term in the Chair Succession as our new Chair-Elect.

• Kim recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and brings refreshing young energy into the Chair Succession.
• Matthew Mio and Melissa Reeves were both appointed to the Exams Institute Board of Trustees for 3-year terms.
• Maria Oliver-Hoyo was reappointed to the Board of Publications, which she chairs, for a new 3-year term, while Michael Morgan will serve a 3-year term in this same Board overseeing the Journal of Chemical Education and ChemEd Xchange.
• Laura Anna begins her term as CHED Councilor, and Sally Mitchell and Stephanie Ryan have been elected Alternate Councilors. We thank Rachel Morgan Theall for her work as CHED Councilor since 2018.

Committees, Business Meeting, & Social

Most DivCHED committee meetings associated with the spring 2022 ACS National Meeting are taking place virtually. Please click here to check the schedule and obtain information on how to register to receive the zoom link(s) for the virtual meetings you wish to attend. Please note that both our CHED Business Meeting – where the slates for fall elections will be shared and nominations accepted from the floor – and our CHED Social will take place virtually on Sunday, March 27, starting at 6:00 pm (business meeting), with the Social immediately following.

Harassment-Free Meetings

Last year, ACS released detailed guidance on the appropriate conduct of its members and volunteers at all meetings (national meetings, regional conferences, Division and Local Section meetings, committee meetings, etc.). In December 2021, ACS DivCHED approved the ACS DivCHED Meeting Conduct Policy that you can find here.

Financial Policy & Forms

To clarify and simplify some of the policies and procedures followed by the ACS DivCHED, the Executive Committee last November approved updated versions of the Travel Reimbursement and Financial Sponsorship policies. The updated documents can be found here.

Contracts

We have renewed our contracts with

• Blue Moon Consulting, which provides our Controller and Bookkeeping functions
• Heather Johnson as our Executive Assistant

We want to acknowledge the great job that both Blue Moon Consulting and Heather Johnson have done this past year in supporting the functioning of the different components of our Division. Blue Moon Consulting works in close contact and collaboration with Rick Moog, our Treasurer, to ensure proper and productive management of the Division’s finances and investments. Heather Johnson is an invaluable asset for the ACS DivCHED who organizes, builds, supervises, and manages among many other things, the CHED website, the Division’s document drives, our divisional meetings, and our diverse systems of communication, including social media accounts and this newsletter. Thank you to both Blue Moon Consulting and Heather Johnson for their great work!

CHED Awards

We also wanted to congratulate the recipients of major ACS awards in chemistry education this past year. Many congratulations to:

Paris Svoronos, professor at Queensborough Community College, received the 2020 James Flack Norris Award at the November 18, 2021 meeting of the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society.

Jennifer Lewis, professor at the University of South Florida, is the recipient of the 2022 ACS Award for Achievement in Research for the Teaching & Learning of Chemistry. She will receive her award during the ACS National Awards Banquet on March 22, 2022, in conjunction with the ACS Spring 2022 in San Diego.

Alice Putti, chemistry teacher a Jenison High School, is the recipient of the 2022 James Bryant Conant Award in High School Chemistry Teaching, sponsored by the Conant Award Endowment. She will also receive her award during the ACS National Awards Banquet this spring.