Auf wiedersehen and Danke!
This is my last note as a member of the Chair Succession in our twice-annual CHED Newsletter. I couldn’t have possibly imagined what I volunteered to do when I agreed to be on the ballot back in Spring 2019! To all of you who have volunteered your time and talents during the last three years…. THANK YOU! You’ve stepped forward time and time again to offer creative solutions to challenging problems that have kept our community growing during circumstances none of us were ever trained for. Our community has always been a touchstone of like-minded folks, but ever more so during the pandemic we have all had the opportunity to realize just how valuable community is. And yet, we sustain one another, support one another, lend a shoulder to listen, offer suggestions to help problem solve. CHED exists because you are here. And I appreciate you!
I’ll finish my 3-year term and never once have had the privilege to meet in a room face-to-face with all of you on ExComm. Yet together, we’ve accomplished a lot. During the last 3 years, we figured out how to conduct business virtually. We created a PR committee and social media policy, and our CHED website was launched anew. We created a conference sponsorship policy, an award nomination template, and updated our travel policy. We hired a new bookkeeper and have a completely revised, much more transparent budgeting process. We endowed the Pimentel Award, and the operations of the Journal of Chemical Education are now fully supported by ACS Publications. We adopted a code of conduct to treat one another with respect every time we gather. We mourned the deaths of cherished colleagues. And we celebrated the 100th birthday of the Division of Chemical Education! So many important contributions because so many of YOU want to make a difference in our community.
As I write this, more than 1300 folks have registered to attend the BCCE at Purdue University. How exciting it will be to share smiles and reconnect in person! For those of us who will not be in attendance (and that includes me), we look forward to lurking on social media and seeing photos of our friends and colleagues. We all owe a deep debt of gratitude to Marcy Towns as General Chair for making this beloved event possible!
During the last year as an ACE Fellow for the American Council on Education, I’ve read a lot about leadership. One book I highly recommend to you is The 5 Graces of Life and Leadership by Gary Burnison, CEO of Korn Ferry. As he writes on the inside cover:
“No matter if we lead a team of five people or 50,000, or only ourselves, we need the Five Graces. Each is an invaluable radically human trait that in the aggregate literally compose the word grace:
Gratitude. The attitude that lifts our hearts and elevates our spirits.
Resilience. It makes the impossible possible.
Aspiration. Knowing that we can make tomorrow different and better than today.
Courage. Not “no fear,” but rather to “know fear” and move beyond it.
Empathy. Meeting others where they are to understand who they are.”
In closing, I offer a small, but heartfelt, thank you to everyone who has “poured into me” during my time as a member of the Chair succession. In particular, Irv, Dawn, Vicente, Kim, Dan, Rick, Cathy, MaryKay, Gail, Laura, Patrick, Maria, Frank, Alex, Kristen, Ellen, Marcy, Tom, and most especially Heather - you’ve all put up with countless questions, emails, doodle polls, and my endless quest to organize our electronic fingerprint. And more importantly, you’ve shown me by example how to lead with grace. Danke and Auf wiedersehen!