Event
Chemical Society Seminar: Miguel A GarcÃa-Garibay (Tomlinson Lecture) Emergent Challenges and Opportunities in Higher Education
Monday, September 8, 2025 13:00to14:30
Maass Chemistry Building
OM 10, 801 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal, QC, H3A 0B8, CA
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Abstract:
After decades of stability, growth, and a certain level of success with a model where instructors served as the primary knowledge source while most students passively listened, teaching and learning in higher education have been in a state of constant evolution in response multiple societal pressures and technological developments. One of the main challenges encountered in the STEM fields is the modest persistence rate, with only ca. 40-50% of students who declare a STEM major (in the US) ultimately completing their originally intended degree. Some of the reasons frequently cited for students to leave STEM majors include lack of preparedness for rigorous work, insufficient support systems, social and cultural factors, and institutional barriers. This talk will describe efforts to make UCLA faculty aware of many of these issues and to explore the implementation of inclusive education strategies.
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Bio:
Miguel A. GarcÃa-Garibay received his B.S. degree from the University of Michoacan, Mexico and his Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia with Professor John Scheffer. After his time as a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University, he joined the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA, where he is now Distinguished Professor. After various leadership positions, he was appointed Dean of Physical Sciences and Senior Dean of the UCLA College. He has served in editorial boards of several American Chemical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry journals and was an associate editor of Journal of the American Chemical Society. GarcÃa-Garibay achieved international reputation for work in reactive intermediates, solid-state chemistry, photochemistry, and for the development of amphidynamic crystals as a platform for molecular machines. He has authored over 250 articles and delivered over 350 lectures across the globe. Among other honors, he received the Inter-American Photochemical Society Award, the ACS Cope Scholar Award, and the 2025 ACS James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry. He was elected fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of Science, fellow of the American Chemical Society, member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, corresponding member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences, and in 2023, he was elected to the USA National Academy of Sciences.