Chair’s Welcome

Friends of GGC Chemistry:

Welcome to the GGC Chemistry Discipline’s Academic Commons, the place to learn more about our growing Chemistry Program of study, our faculty and our students.

With input from regional chemical industry leaders, Chemistry Discipline faculty members designed and established the GGC Chemistry major program in 2014. Since then, our program has grown to more than 170 students and is producing graduates with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry at an increasing pace each year. The Chemistry program at GGC boasts three concentrations, professional, general and teacher certification, preparing our students for graduate studies in the chemical sciences, employment in the chemical industry and K-12 teaching, respectively. Our very popular Chemistry minor program offers students of other majors the benefit of additional expertise in the chemical sciences to round out their degree program.  For those who are interested, program details and requirements may be found here.

What makes our program vibrant is the diverse, dedicated and talented chemistry faculty who teach at GGC. With expertise in every subdiscipline of chemistry, GGC’s 39 full-time and 17 part-time faculty members provide exceptional learning experiences for our students in the classroom, laboratory and beyond. Versed in a variety of active learning approaches, our faculty enable student success through problem-solving based Socratic Q&A, flipped classroom, POGIL and Thayer methods. Examples of classroom learning activities authored by our faculty may be found here. (link to Active learning repository) Due to these innovative approaches to teaching and learning, several members of our faculty have been recognized as leaders in STEM teaching, garnering numerous accolades such as the University System of Georgia Board of Regents’ Teaching Excellence Award, the Governor’s Teaching Fellowship, the GGC Center for Teaching Excellence Fellowship, the Technology Association of Georgia Excalibur Award and the Blackboard Catalyst Award.

We also have a robust undergraduate research program that is funded through a variety of internal and external grants and is tied directly to our curriculum through the SST STEM II 4-Year Undergraduate Research Experience initiative. Beginning with our introductory general and organic chemistry courses, students participate in research-like experiences as part of their laboratory experimentation. Following that, sophomores have an opportunity to participate in STEC 2500, a directed research course that introduces students to small-scope faculty-led research projects. Chemistry majors then participate in STEC 4500, a semi-independent research experience under the guidance of a faculty member. In an effort to engage underserved high school students in STEM research, each summer, we sponsor talented young scholars in the ACS SEED program, giving them an opportunity to work alongside our faculty in relevant laboratory experimentation and technique development. We maintain this outreach effort throughout the academic year by sponsoring local high school students who desire to conduct research in the chemical sciences with our faculty.

Finally, the GGC Chemistry Discipline is heavily invested in community engagement to promote the chemical sciences. Our discipline gives chemistry demonstrations at local K-12 schools in conjunction with our ACS Student Affiliate and Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) chapters. Our newly established Mu Zeta chapter of the Gamma Sigma Epsilon chemistry honor society will also be engaged in service activities. In addition, we have established a variety of internship opportunities with regional chemical companies and affiliations with local government agencies, such as the Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources. These venues not only give our students and faculty opportunities to serve our community, but also highlight the skills, knowledge and abilities the GGC Chemistry Program offers.

Go Grizzly Chemistry!

JOSEPH C. SLOOP, Ph.D.

Chair of Faculty & Professor of Chemistry

School of Science and Technology

Georgia Gwinnett College