DCHAS folks, (mostly of the academic persuasion…)

This is a reminder (see below) of a symposium I am organizing at the BCCE this summer.  The abstract deadline is Feb 12.

Perhaps you haven’t submitted an abstract because your local safety program connected to your classes and labs seems “ordinarily” or not worthy of special notice.  But, the purpose of the symposium is to share what we are doing on various campuses -  however ordinary or extraordinary.  Think:  even if your program is unspectacular by your own standards, it may have elements to it that others can learn about and take home.  Since safety instruction seems to be the area of chemical education needing the most improvement and attention, it may well be that your good idea gets adopted elsewhere by some audience members and, down the road, you indirectly prevent an incident (and all of its attendant problems) from happening!  I’ll bet that youtcan’t say that about most papers you present (or hear). 

If you won’t be at the BCCE, perhaps a colleague who is planning to attend (but not on the CHAS listserve) could present your program.   Forward this email.  We will only develop better safety programs by learning about the various ways it can be done and locally importing what makes sense for our own programs. 

Dave

DCHAS folks,

The 21^st Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE) will be in Denton, TX, from August 1-5, 2010.  At this conference I am organizing a symposium on “ Teaching Safety in Chemistry Classes and Programs” and hosting a workshop on “Designing and Implementing Safety Programs Embedded in the Curriculum”.

Please consider submitting an abstract for the symposium.  The description is:

The 2008 ACS CPT Guidelines for Bachelor’s Degree Programs reaffirm that undergraduate chemistry programs must include safety education “as in integral part of the chemistry curriculum” and “throughout their studies students must experience safety procedures and processes.” This symposium will include presentations of how different colleges and universities design and implement these CPT requirements, both in individual courses and in curriculum-wide programs. By sharing successful programs, we can all improve what we do on our home campuses and better educate our students for their future careers as safe scientists.

The deadline for abstract submission is Feburary 12, 2010. 

More information about the conference is at:   http://www.bcce2010.org/home/home.php

Dave

David C. Finster
Professor of Chemistry
University Chemical Hygiene Officer
Department of Chemistry
Wittenberg University
dfinster**At_Symbol_Here**wittenberg.edu