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The 2024-2025 ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ academic year is now well underway. For some (me included) it may feel that summer was just a few days ago. But here we are, in the midst of a new school year.

In the Science Education department, we are excited to welcome a new faculty member, Dr. Sam Lee, who joins us as we continue to (re)grow our department, after the recent retirements of long-serving faculty Dr. Laura Henriques and Dr. Alan Colburn. Just as Laura and Al helped shape a nascent department to create numerous successful programs, I look forward to seeing how our newer faculty (Sam, Sara and Amy) help guide the department in the coming decades.

This year will likely bring some interesting challenges. We’ll have an increased student population on campus (including the largest first-year class in some time) with implications for institutional services (advising, food service, parking, etc.). The ongoing political and economic uncertainties that we face, both locally and nationally, are likely to bring some added anxiety to us all. As a campus, we continue to struggle with how best to support students in a post-pandemic reality where attitudes and expectations differ from the norms of 2019.

Despite this, I'm hopeful that we will flex our brains (and our routines) to address these changes in creative and productive ways. And while creating effective learning experiences is critical to student success, patience and empathy are important elements of that process. This is not to say we do any less in our classes, but rather figure out how to achieve our desired student learning outcomes in ways that allow all to succeed.

I think that’s enough reflecting for now. I look forward to all the new adventures that come with a new school year—thanks to the staff and faculty here in Science Education!

Jim

James Kisiel
Chair and Professor
Department of Science Education