Bob Midden , Ph.D.—Director of the Chapman Community and Instructor of RESC 220V: Journeys into Science.

Bob has a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Ohio State University and has done research in nearly all areas of chemistry, discovering some of the chemical steps involved in the development of cancer and some of the chemical processes that account for the success of certain cancer therapies. He spent seven years in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he helped start a new Ph.D. program in Environmental Health Chemistry and was involved in health science research. While at Johns Hopkins University he taught primarily graduate and medical students. When he came to BGSU in 1987 to help start a new Ph.D. program in Photochemical Sciences, he discovered that he enjoyed teaching undergraduate students even more.

Since that time his academic interests have shifted to finding the best ways to help students learn those things that will be of most value to them in their careers and in their lives. And, while he continues to teach courses through the Ph.D. level in chemistry, he also enjoys teaching introductory courses in the arts and in social science. In fact, you're almost as likely to catch him playing music with his traditional Irish band, "Toraigh," as you are to find him contemplating some of the current mysteries in the chemistry of human health. He believes that you can learn in many ways in addition to traditional classroom experiences, and his most important overall goal is to help students discover the joy and satisfaction of learning and the best ways to make their lives enjoyable and successful.

Project: General Community Assessment

We will be contacting a variety of community agencies to learn about their mission and goals, the population they serve, their strategies and resources and what they need to better serve their clients. We'll also ask what ways they believe undergraduate college students might be able to help. And we'll determine what information they would like to have about the community to be better able to contribute to community development, growth and improvement. In other words, we will be doing general community assessment that will not be particularly targeted. I hope to learn about opportunities for developing partnerships that will best serve the learning needs of Chapman Community students at the same time those students are making valuable and meaningful contributions to the community. What we learn from these initial contacts will guide what we will choose to do later this semester and possibly next semester.

We may spend the most time with the Wood County Health Department and we may become involved with a comprehensive community health assessment that they are interested in performing as part of their role in addressing public health needs for Wood County.

Students involved in this project will learn how to begin to develop a partnership with community agencies, organizations and groups, students will develop interviewing skills, reporting and data analysis skills and will have opportunities to practice their team building and leadership skills.

Contact:
midden@bgsu.edu
Room 022