On November 13, professors J. Kampmeier (Rochester), D. Gosser (NYC), and P. Varma-Nelson (Indianapolis) will be honored by the ACS Northeastern Section as recipients of the James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry. This coveted award recognizes their leadership work to develop the Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) Workshop model for teaching chemistry. A break from the traditional lecture/recitation model, PLTL trains students to guide small teams of students of the following year’s class in working together to solve challenging problems designed by the faculty member. This provides a greatly enhanced learning experience for the students, a leadership role for the undergraduate leader, and a creative new dimension to faculty teaching. Currently, 1500-2000 peer leaders are engaged on more than 150 campuses to facilitate Workshops for over 20,000 students each year. PLTL is propagating from science and math courses to engineering, economics, and business school courses, since it provides students better conceptual understanding as they construct their own knowledge. Students find it fun because they discuss, debate, question, and try to explain the meaning of observations and data with their peers, just as scientists do in research meetings.
Jack is excited to have had a pivotal role in developing these new teaching techniques and is grateful for NSF grant support. His leadership in teaching was previously recognized by receipt of UofR’s E. P. Curtis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (1974), its R. H. Goergen Award for Artistry and Achievement in Undergraduate Teaching (1999), and the Chemical Manufacturer’s Association’s Catalyst Award for Excellence in Science Teaching (1999).
Born (1935) into a family of engineers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Jack attended schools in the suburban Chicago and Philadelphia areas. Receiving his A.B., cum laude, from Amherst College (1957) and Organic Chemistry Ph.D. from University of Illinois (1960, under Prof. Curtin), he directly joined the University of Rochester chemistry faculty and rose to full professor by 1971. Dr. Kampmeier views his UofR teaching career in overlapping 15-year segments, where his main focus was chemical research (1960-75), administration (1975-90), and pedagogical research (1990-2005). His teaching and research in organic chemistry emphasized reaction mechanisms of free radical, organometallic, and electron transfer reactions. Administrative positions included Chemistry Department Chairman, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Associate Director of the NSF Center for Photoinduced Charge Transfer. Building on his teaching innovations of the ‘60’s, Jack teamed up with Vicki Roth of UofR’s Learning Assistance Services in 1995 to introduce peer-led teaching in his course in organic chemistry. The UofR initiative has now propagated to include 15-20 courses in eight different departments. His two sabbaticals, as NSF Faculty Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley (1971-2) and as Fulbright Senior Research Scholar at the Albert Ludwigs Universitat, Freiburg, Germany (1979-80), have been the only interruptions of a career devoted to the University of Rochester. As Emeritus Professor, Jack still has a UofR office and is working on publishing collaborative papers both in chemistry and education.
Jack’s local ACS activities included chairing the Program and Harrison Howe Committees, and encouraging U of R’s Student Affiliate. Nationally, he has long been a member of the Organic Chemistry and Chemical Education Divisions. Hobbies include bird watching, reading, play going, music, and opera. Jack first met Anne Derk in 5th grade and some dozen years later (1958) they were married and lived along the Rhine in Germany for a few months. They still love river cruises and other travel in Europe. Jack and Anne have two professional sons and a daughter, who is a classical pianist in NYC. Always smiling, Jack has made the most of his academic and professional career and enjoyed interactions with many friends and co-workers. J. Dolf Bass
