Our Department Values
The Chemistry Department is committed to providing the best education possible for our students by being dedicated to excellence in teaching, personalized instruction, and research-based education within the Liberal Arts mission of Fort Lewis College.
Teaching philosophy of the Chemistry Department
- Excellence in the classroom and laboratory leads to better engaged, more motivated and academically prepared students.
- Discovery cultivates intellectual excitement, the strongest life-long motivation for learning.
- Hands-on work with modern instrumentation, equipment, and techniques combined with solving real chemistry and biochemistry problems provides the best preparation for careers and graduate or professional schools.
- Personalized learning and research collaborations increase the overall learning effectiveness while developing the cooperative skills needed in today’s technical workplaces.
- Undergraduate research is an effective vehicle for integrating discovery, hands-on work, and personalized learning which contributes to a sense of belonging to the larger scientific enterprise and enhances a student's opportunities and abilities to increase their chemistry and biochemistry foundational knowledge.