From the Chair
Continued from page 3
University environments are exciting in part because
they are continually in a state of flux. Undergraduate and
graduate students arrive on campus, and before we know
it, they are setting flight into the world to make their mark.
The arc of a faculty member is longer, but we still marvel
at where the time went. Last month we came together as
a department to commemorate the careers, at the onset
of their retirements, of three remarkable colleagues: Tom
Meyer, Royce Murray, and Ed Samulski. The statistics as-
sociated with their chemical accomplishments are truly
staggering: over 100,000 total citations, a “collective”
h-index of nearly 300, and innumerable national and in-
ternational awards. These numbers tell only a fraction of
the story. The impact of their scholarship is remarkable,
spanning energy science to electrochemistry to polymer
science, but perhaps even more impressive is the devel-
opment and cultivation of young scientists in their lab-
oratories who have gone on to do amazing things. It is
also true that the Department of Chemistry would be a
much different place, dramatically for the worse, in the
absence of the leadership that this trio exhibited over the
span of their careers. The service that they have given to
the university, as department chairs, deans, vice chan-
cellors, and in their advocacy for the dramatically im-
proved facilities that we now in enjoy surely will be hall-
marks of their time in the department. I learn something
every time I talk to any of them and wish them the very
best in their next adventures.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention two “macro”
events that have made the national press and impact the
Carolina Chemistry community. As you probably know
at this point, in August the Confederate monument was
toppled from its pedestal in McCorkle Place. Forty-one
department chairs in the College of Arts and Sciences,
including me, wrote a letter to Chancellor Folt strongly
opposing the return of the Confederate monument to
McCorkle Place or any prominent location on campus.
We concluded that “The values that the statue represents
are inherently opposed to the principles of light and lib-
erty that guide the educational mission of UNC Chapel
Hill.” The Board of Governors has asked Chancellor Folt
to provide a plan for the monument by November 15. The
complexities around this issue are virtually limitless, but
it is clear that the toppling of the statue and the BOG re-
quest has catalyzed many important conversations on
campus that are continuing at this writing.
Second, while Chapel Hill was largely, although not com-
pletely, spared the damages of Hurricanes Florence and
Michael, many of our students and their families have
been impacted. The devastation on the eastern part of
the state has been terrible. For example, our colleagues
in Chemistry at UNC Wilmington suffered great destruc-
tion and it may be years before they are able to rebound
to pre-Florence conditions. At this writing, we in Chapel
Hill are trying to identify ways that we can assist in their
recovery and UNC Chapel Hill as a whole has been pro-
active in providing resources to help assist students who
have been impacted by the hurricane.
On a more personal note, I would like to share the news
that I have agreed to extend my term as department
chair for an additional year, until June 30, 2020. There is
much to be done. I would like to thank everyone who has
supported the department and supported me since I was
asked to take this position in autumn 2015. It has been a
challenging, yet rewarding experience, and I look forward
to what we can accomplish in the upcoming months.
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