Abstract:     As a Jesuit institution, Loyola College in Maryland places great emphasis on the concepts of social justice and service to the greater community. Therefore, we in the Chemistry Department have been examining the implementation of service-learning activities into our curriculum that require the analysis of real-life samples and a deeper examination of a chemist's role in society. I have created a service-learning component in my instrumental methods course in concert with Baltimore's Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning. In this course, students sample and analyze paint samples from neighborhoods adjacent in the inner-city Baltimore neighborhoods adjacent to our campus for lead content, then create a presentation for the Board of Directors of the Coalition and our neighborhood colleagues. The experiment adds a real-life research component to the laboratory and is stimulates ethical discussions regarding urban renewal, child welfare, human rights, and the importance of scientific ethics. These concepts are reinforced through classroom discussions and field trips. The American Chemical Society, through its Experiential Programs in Chemistry project, has encouraged the development of such programs. I will discuss the components of our lead analysis project and how to implement a similar program into a variety of classroom environments.

Speaker:     Dr. Olsen graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee and received her Ph.D. from Indiana University in 1996, where she was named an Eli Lilly and Kraft Fellow. For the past five years Dr. Olsen has served at Loyola College in Maryland, a comprehensive liberal-arts college in the Jesuit tradition. She is currently serving as a member of the ACS National Student Affiliates Advisory Board.

Date:  Friday, June 22, 2001