statement on education—moving forward together

Chemical Education Today

JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 77 No. 9 September 2000 • Journal of Chemical Education 1109

ACS Presidential Election

Statement on Education—Moving Forward Togetherby Eli M. Pearce

Who am I (for more details see http://www.elipearce.org)?• An extensive and diverse background in education, in-

dustry, and with government.

• The recipient of a number of awards and honors ineducation and research.

• Direct involvement in educational development: K–12, undergraduate, graduate, and extension courses.

Education Is Our Future

We live in a rapidly changing world dependent on theunderstanding and wise use of science and technology. Chem-istry is central to this—and the ACS is and must be centrallyinvolved at all educational levels with students, teachers, andthe public.

Driving developments are the rapid growth in electronicinformation technology, globalization, and interdisciplinarityrequiring partnering with other disciplines.

Information Technology (IT) and CommunicationsThe ACS crown jewels are publications and chemical

abstracts. We should make large investments in IT—peopleand equipment. This will provide for synergistic investmentsin educational development and delivery utilizing our estab-lished facilities and know-how to bring the excitement ofchemistry in new forms and networks to a diverse popula-tion—encouraging educators to experiment and communi-cate with each other easily.

Globalization“Global”—not only defined in geographic terms but

more inclusive—includes interdisciplinarity (e.g. with biol-ogy, materials science, engineering), and interactions betweenindustry, academia and government. This provides new edu-cational opportunities for chemistry and its challenge to ex-plain and meet worldwide challenges.

Partnering with Other Professional OrganizationsWe must explore multiprong efforts with other scien-

tific societies. Broader scientific knowledge is the future andACS must lead. To do this we must redefine chemistry—“chemistry is…what chemists do”—and integrate the chem-istry curriculum to reflect the role of the modern chemist andits centrality in the changing workplace. In all important areasof technology, Chemistry has played a key role! The public,educators, and students, must be made more aware of this!

Moving Forward at All Levels

K–12

All students should receive a comprehensive science edu-cation built on an experiential basis. Scientific literacy is re-quired for an adequate future pool of scientists and enlight-ened citizens having to make knowledgeable decisions about

the use of technologies. Wemust actively participate witheducators in developing stan-dards and materials and be astronger advocate for increasedscience educational investmentby government, industry, andthe profession. My contribu-tions in this regard were re-cently recognized by the OscarFoster Award of the ChemistryTeachers Club of New York.

College and University EducationThe days are long past when a well-educated student

should graduate without a meaningful exposure to chemis-try and its interactions with science and society. Among thechallenges are the attractive and active Web-based deliveryof science to entice college-level students. The ACS shouldbe at the forefront of doing this. The Committee onProfessional Training (CPT) must be more inclusive in re-gard to interdisciplinary programs. (I was a CPT memberand also received the Polymer Division Paul J. Flory Awardin Polymer Education and the Society of Plastics EngineersInternational Education Award). CPT must take a strongposition in regard to the budgetary use of part-time facultywhich are not based on firm educational reasoning. Themodern curriculum requires more faculty student interactionsand not less.

Post-Formal EducationLifetime learning is increasingly important in this rap-

idly changing world. The ACS must expand its extensioncourses utilizing the latest in information technology for therapid transmission of the most up-to-date courses in chem-istry and the interdisciplines on a member-affordable basis.The ability of chemists to be kept up to date relates increas-ingly to future job security. I have co-directed and taught forover 20 years in extension courses.

In Conclusion…

• The ACS must continue to expand its educational ef-forts in all aspects. This should be done cooperativelywith educators and with other scientific disciplines.

• As leaders in electronic information technology, ACSmust develop leading-edge educational technologyavailable to all. It is an essential component for publicunderstanding and attracting diverse and intelligentyouth to science.

Eli M. Pearce is University Research Professor at the Poly-technic University, 6 Metrotech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201;epearce@poly.edu; http://www.elipearce.org.