Chemistry Department earns coveted accreditation

Adrian Monty, Staff writer

The American Chemical Society (ACS) accredited The Mercyhurst Chemistry and Biochemistry Department as of March 2016.

This accreditation gives Chemistry and Biochemistry degrees earned at Mercyhurst a higher standard and will give students even more opportunities once they leave Mercyhurst.

Clint Jones, Ph.D., chair of the Chemistry department, has put much effort into the official accreditation of the program.

“This is a big day for chemistry at Mercyhurst because an ACS-accredited program must meet significant criteria, including faculty accomplished in all five sub-areas of chemistry, a demanding curriculum, modern facilities and safety procedures,” Jones said in an official Mercyhurst University news release.

“This designation means a great deal to our university, our department, our faculty and students, not to mention prospective students and their families.”

According to its official website, “The American Chemical Society (ACS) promotes excellence in chemistry education for undergraduate students through approval of baccalaureate chemistry programs.”

“It makes me feel a lot more confident in my program knowing that we have met the national guidelines for what a chemistry program should strive to be,” Connor Link, a senior Biochemistry major said.

This accreditation largely reflects the expectations of the students of the Chemistry Department of Mercyhurst as well as the accomplished efforts of the faculty and further aids in the preparation of students’ professional lives.

According to the American Chemical Society website, “Approved programs offer their students a broad-based and rigorous chemistry education that provides them with the intellectual, experimental and communication skills necessary to become successful scientific professionals. Offering such a rigorous program requires an energetic and accomplished faculty, a modern and well-maintained infrastructure, and a coherent chemistry curriculum that develops content knowledge and broader skills through the utilization of effective pedagogical approaches.”