I hope you all had a happy Halloween. Today’s topic is on the American Chemical Society’s presidential election for 2017 between the two candidates Peter K. Dorhout and Thomas R. Gilbert. If you haven’t been following or if this is your first time hearing about the election, you can read their candidate statements here and here on the ACS website. Though events such as these are pretty rare, it is important to remember to do our part as members of the ACS and vote. A quick introduction of the candidates: Thomas Gilbert is the acting chair of the chemistry department at Northeastern University and Peter Dorhout is the vice president of research at Kansas State University. An additional reminder: the outcome of this election will mean that whoever is successful will be made a member of the ACS Board of Directors until 2019 and will also serve the ACS as president in 2018.
At times such as these, knowing what each candidate brings to the table and what they plan to do is in our best interest as members. We should look to scrutinize the candidates for unrealistic plans and debate the issues they view as important. To all readers, feel free to leave a comment in the comment section below.
A small excerpt of their candidate statements.
On the topic of eduction:
"The interdisciplinary nature of many of the new jobs in the chemical sciences needs to be reflected in how chemists are educated. This education has to start early—in K–12 classrooms. ACS took a major step in support of precollege teachers in 2013 when we launched the American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT). I supported the AACT proposal, and if elected, I look forward to expanding my work with elementary and middle school science teachers and high school chemistry teachers to include teachers from across the country as they create learning activities that are both content-rich and share the sense of investigation and discovery that we chemists find so rewarding." - Gilbert
"Teaching chemistry should be a partnership. We need to build stronger alliances and prepare our workforce to be successful in a global marketplace. The American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT) is positioned to engage members in dialogue around K–12 chemistry education; our college and university faculty are key to preparing the next generation of chemists, and so are our industrial members. ACS should continue to lead in promoting the highest standards and safest chemistry education programs and enhance the educational opportunities for all students, including nontraditional and adult learners. Members from industry and the academy should be joined in regular dialogue as part of the IPAB I mentioned, discussing and promoting the critical skill sets necessary for new chemists as well as how we can keep our established chemists engaged in lifelong learning to enhance their skills." - Dorhout
On the topic of jobs:
"I would also work with the Committee on Professional Training, the Society Committee on Education, and federal funding agencies to put into practice the recommendations of our Presidential Commission on Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences. This country can no longer afford to have colleges and universities preparing graduate students for jobs that no longer exist, forcing them to continue their preparation for the job market through years of postdoctoral research. These perpetual postdocs are victims of a system that is inefficient and unfair. I believe ACS should take the lead in developing guidelines for Ph.D. programs in chemistry that align students’ graduate experiences with the knowledge and skills (and not just laboratory skills) they need to succeed in today’s chemical enterprise and, indeed, to serve as future leaders of the American Chemical Society." - Gilbert
"Focusing on the future, I will build on the partnership with Corporation Associates and engage stakeholder groups of key ACS committee representatives in discourse and action. An Industry Partners Advisory Board (IPAB) should be established and tasked with advising ACS about aiding our nation’s industries, promoting the chemical enterprise to Congress, and preparing chemists for the future workforce.Our task force on employment has worked diligently on improving the domestic employment situation for starting and experienced chemical professionals. We investigated, among other things, the imbalance of supply and demand and the training needed for preparation for industrial jobs, entrepreneurship, and career development. My time as president will be spent on realizing the key recommendations being made by the task force." - Dorhout
This has been an interesting election. Both candidates seem pretty similar in their qualifications. I am much more sympathetic to Dorhout, however, since his statement talked very much about serving the people.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that too. Dorhout seems to use the pronoun "we" much more than Gilbert does. While it is definitely a writing technique used by many candidates in various elections, I feel much more inclined to vote for Dorhout based on his ability to seem like one of us.
DeleteKnowing how to communicate persuasively is perhaps one of the greatest skills a candidate can learn. Just look at the Op-doc How to Win an Election by Sarah Klein and Thomas Mason on the NYTimes. Candidates who wish to appeal to the public and want to seem relatable will often use “we” and “our” in their sentences. This is similar to the power of speaking of community that Raymond Williams mentions.
DeleteBoth these candidates sound like they have plans, but can they actually execute them? Year after year, it feels like these candidates simply promise to improve the job market or education system without ever causing change. I am beginning to wonder where the $158 membership fee we pay each year goes.
ReplyDeleteDorhout actually addresses that with, “I could list the usual promises, such as easy access to ACS Publications, working with Congress to get funding, and influencing the media to spread the benefits of chemistry. No president has a magic wand to accomplish significant change overnight or even during their term. However, working with the council, board, local sections, divisions, international chapters, and most important with you, the nearly 157,000 members, we can all make a difference.” It’s quite the rhetoric honestly. He could be a politician.
DeleteWhile Dorhout does put heavy emphasis on working together as a community, which can also be seen in the way he calls ACS, “our society,” and the way he calls chemistry, “our profession,” it is possible he is also setting up an argument for his defense if he fails to accomplish anything. By saying, “no president has a magic wand to accomplish significant change overnight or even during their term,” perhaps he is already acknowledging the fact that not much will change without a miracle from the 157,000 member-base.
DeleteI'll be voting for Prof. Gilbert since he goes to my school and I know him. =)
ReplyDeleteGilbert has been a member of the ACS since 1968, 17 years longer than Dorhout. If anything, I think he’s got way more knowledge and experience to run the ACS.
ReplyDeleteIf we look at their respective experiences, I think it's extremely hard to tell which one is more qualified. They've both listed ALL of their professional experiences and services in the ACS as part of their persuasive ethos. And the lists are about the same length. This situation is far from what's happening in the US Presidential election where Donald Trump showboats his "successful" business career and Hillary Clinton reiterates her 35 years of public service and work as Secretary of State. There is no clear more qualified applicant in this election.
Delete“These perpetual postdocs are victims of a system that is inefficient and unfair.” I’m glad someone in this election realizes how bad the situation is for postdocs. The corporate environment right now doesn’t seem to care about hiring postdocs who are missing the training most Bachelor’s grads receive right out of college.
ReplyDeleteIs improving the job market for postdocs the most important issue right now? There will always be at least 5% unemployment. As an undergraduate student who plans on going into the job market right after college, I think we should be more concerned about promoting innovational research and expanding ACS membership to high schools. As both candidates point out, chemistry has an image problem and we need to reverse the recent declines in membership to make ACS great again.
DeleteWhile I am unable to vote in the election since I am not an ACS member, I can’t help but think both candidates are too similar. They both have extensive research and professional experiences. They both have goals to grow ACS membership. They both have plans to improve the quality of K-12 chemistry education. And they both have unconvincing plans to make the job market better. The patterns of presentation they use and the subjects they talk about are almost identical. Though I suppose it is only telling of how ACS membership, education, and the job market are the most important issues to those is the chemistry discipline.
ReplyDelete