ASU chemist named to national education committee

Richard C. Bauer, a principal lecturer and faculty head with ASU’s School of Letters and Sciences, has been appointed as an associate to the Society Committee on Education by the American Chemical Society in Washington D.C. His appointment was effective Jan. 1, 2011.

“As a member of the American Chemical Society Committee on Education, I hope to advance its mission by participating in their efforts to strengthen chemical education at the undergraduate level,” Bauer said. “By serving as a member of the committee, I hope to serve as an additional voice to support efforts that have a sound basis in the literature on chemistry learning and teaching.”

The mission of the Society Committee on Education is to support the development and implementation of programs that bring the wonder, excitement, opportunities and challenges of modern chemical sciences to students of all ages in order to:

• Improve science literacy and, in particular, heighten the interest of students in chemistry.

• Recruit students into the chemical sciences and retain them as contributors.

• Strengthen the science education infrastructure to meet the changing needs of the science community.

“The board looks for educators who have experience at all different grade levels,” said Mary Kirchhoff, director of ACS’ Education Division. “Dr. Bauer’s perspective will be especially helpful in the field of higher education.”
Bauer will serve a one-year term as an associate to the 15-member board. The committee meets semi-annually in March and August.

Bauer has co-authored two chemistry textbooks and more than 30 papers and presentations.

In addition to his duties on the ACS council, Bauer currently serves on the Long Range Planning Committee of the ACS Division of Chemical Education. Bauer earned both his doctorate and master’s in chemistry at Purdue University and a bachelor of science from Saginaw State University in 1985.