Professor Benny Chan of the College of New Jersey

"From Coordination Chemistry to STEM Education: Transforming higher education for equity through chemical research, stem education, and the social sciences using a theory of change."

The College of New Jersey has given the speaker a unique opportunity to dive into a diverse scholarly pathway through technical chemistry research and the science of diversity and inclusion. The seminar will discuss work in coordination chemistry through the use of equity focused CUREs (course based undergraduate research experiences) to produce a scientific study on transition metal aminoquinoline sulfonamide complexes. The speaker and his colleague in the social sciences have developed a transferrable theory of change title Experimentalism to enact systemic changes towards equity and inclusion in higher education. The theory of change has allowed transformation in the general chemistry curriculum and has spread throughout the entire chemistry department. The process is transferrable to other departments throughout the School of Science and has also been used to develop change at TCNJ at large.