(Posted 10-22-99)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News Service Contact: Steve Gilliam, 336-334-5371

DR. PAUL KELTER NAMED ROURK PROFESSOR
OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION AT UNCG

GREENSBORO--Dr. Paul Kelter, an award-winning chemistry faculty member at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, has joined the faculty of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro as the Marie Foscue Rourk Professor of Chemical Education.

Kelter will be introduced to the campus and educational communities on Friday, Nov. 12, during a free, public symposium on the overall topic "Do You Want to Know? Directions for Chemical Education." The event will take place from 3:30-5 p.m. in Jarrell lecture Hall of Jackson Library and is sponsored by the UNCG Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Kelter will speak on "Are They Prepared and What Are They Prepared For?"

He will be followed by Dr. Jimmy Reeves of UNC-Wilmington and Dr. Gabriela Weaver of the University of Colorado at Denver, who will do a presentation on "Using Research on Learning to Inform the Use of Instructional Technology in Chemistry."

The professorship was created through an endowment honoring Marie Foscue Rourk, a 1927 chemistry graduate of the North Carolina College for Women (now UNCG).

Kelter has received more than 40 grants totaling approximately $6 million to support projects in chemistry and science education. Funding agencies have included the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education.

"Professor Kelter is a dynamic and enthusiastic chemical educator," said Dr. Terence Nile, head of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge about modern teaching techniques to UNCG. This experience will benefit not only our students but also help our faculty modernize and improve their teaching.

"His experience with web-based and multimedia approaches to education will greatly enhance their use in this department. He also has experience with education at the high school and community college levels and will have an impact in these arenas, especially locally."

At UNL, Kelter and his associates worked toward the improvement of undergraduate science education through the development of novel methods, including multimedia curriculum design, along with the design of local and national education training workshops. They also developed strategies to promote a high level of interaction in classes of all sizes.

He has published extensively in professional journals. He is author or co-author of four textbooks: "Chemistry: A World of Choices" (1998), and "Chemistry: The Nature of Change" (forthcoming, 2002), "Analytical Chemistry" (forthcoming 2002) and "Chemistry for Chemical Technology Students: The Basics and  Beyond" (forthcoming 2000).

He has worked on programs that included the National Science Foundation-funded "Assignment Chemical Technology" projects which included phase I, II and III grants in collaboration with Southeast Community College in Lincoln, Neb. The initiative included development of a national curriculum, including a CD-Rom, for two-year chemical technology students.

Among his honors, he was selected by the UNL student body to receive "Outstanding Teacher of the Year" awards in 1996 and 1997. In 1999, he received the UNL College of Arts and Science Distinguished Teacher Award and was inducted into the UNL Academy of Distinguished Teachers.

Marie Foscue Rourk, in whose name the professorship was created, died in 1987. Following her college graduation, she studied laboratory technology in Charlotte. She was director of the laboratory at James Walker Memorial Hospital in Wilmington and taught chemistry in its nursing school. Among her activities, she was a member of the original board of trustees of Southeastern Community College in Columbus County. She was instrumental in founding the West Brunswick branch of the Brunswick County Library. She was a past president of the North Carolina Medical Auxiliary and the Brunswick County Historical Society. Her husband, physician Dr. Malcolm H. Rourk of Shallotte, created the Marie Foscue Rourk Distinguished Professorship in Chemical Education in his wife's honor.

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