Congratulations to the Department of Chemistry for being recognized for its outstanding contributions to research and UNT's educational mission! Representatives from the department and college, including department chair Dr. Lee Slaughter and COS Dean John Quintanilla, were presented with the Outstanding Department Award at the President's Staff Sack Lunch on July 19, and the unit's impressive contributions to research and UNT's educational mission were highlighted.
UNT Chemistry has led the College of Science in dollars received from sponsored project awards per tenured faculty member for five of the last seven years, and its faculty members have received a major NSF grant to upgrade the CRUNTCh computing cluster as well as grants from the Welch Foundation, American Petroleum Society, Keck Foundation, Sloan Foundation and others.
They hold many research, teaching and mentoring distinctions and five are among the top 2% of scientists worldwide cited in the scientific literature.
The department also has expanded its research expertise, formally adding the divisions of chemistry education and chemical biology.
To further its educational mission, the department has introduced undergraduate teaching assistants, improved TA training, increased sections to cut class sizes, increased student engagement, made curricular changes to better support struggling students and expanded its online offerings, among many other student success initiatives.
Via unt.edu
From Dean Quintanilla:
UNT Chemistry has some of the world's most cited researchers and has consistently received grants from federal agencies and private foundations. Many faculty have received a university-level award for research excellence at the annual Salute to Faculty Excellence. The department has expanded its research expertise by establishing Chemistry Education and Chemical Biology as new divisions.
To improve student success, the department has added sections of general and organic chemistry, thus reducing class sizes. Multiple instructors have used Sage 230 to implement active learning strategies in their classes. Recitation sections of general chemistry have shifted from Q&A sessions to group exercises, with a similar change planned for organic chemistry. The department also has improved the training of new teaching assistants.
Regarding its curriculum, the department created CHEM 1980 to address students' mathematical preparation, CHEM 1210 for extra help with word problems, and CHEM 1400 to give more focused attention to its young majors. The department has expanded online offerings and has been engaged with the offering of required chemistry classes and (especially) labs in Frisco.
Congratulations to the faculty and staff of the Department of Chemistry for this well-deserved honor. (Historical note: The Department of Mathematics and Teach North Texas received this award in past years.)