Chemistry and biochemistry are exciting disciplines that seek to understand our world from the viewpoint of atomic and molecular behavior. Chemists and biochemists integrate knowledge from biology, physics, and mathematics to solve problems in a wide variety of areas.
Chemistry and biochemistry courses develop critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and experimental technique to provide ample preparation for future career success in a variety of fields, including medicine, dentistry, environmental science, forensic science, pharmacology, materials science, business, law, and more. Fairfield’s chemistry and biochemistry curriculum emphasizes these skills and applications through faculty-led research and laboratory-based courses.
The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry is committed to an environment of inclusion and equity for all members of the community including students, faculty and staff. We embrace the diversity of our community as a strength in fulfilling our teaching, learning and scholarship. We strive to support, uplift, respect and encourage all members of our community, expecting each member of our community to do the same. Diversity is viewed to include, but is not limited to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, and place of origin. We welcome diverse viewpoints to be expressed so that all may be included and may learn from each other. Identifying and eliminating racism and other forms of bias is a commitment we make in order to build the community of chemists that includes representation by all members of the community, especially those who have been historically excluded from chemistry such as women, LGBTQIA individuals, persons with disabilities, and people of color. These commitments align with Fairfield’s vision of Diversity and Inclusive Excellence, the Universal Apostolic Preference to “walk with the excluded” (link) and statements made by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (link).
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and its curricula are certified by the Committee on Professional Training of the American Chemical Society (ACS). Certified programs are defined by high quality faculty, deep and broad curriculum, modern facilities, and modern instrumentation. The American Chemical Society is actively committed to cultivating a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and respectful community of chemistry professionals. Diversity, equity, inclusion and respect (DEIR) are core values of the ACS and are a pillar of undergraduate education in ACS certified programs. The ACS Statement on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Respect can be found here.

Departmental Commitments

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry will take the following steps to achieve our inclusive and anti-racist goals in our curricula and pedagogy:

• Faculty will reflect on their curricula to:
  • integrate scientific practices from multiple cultures, worldviews or perspectives.
  • illustrate the historical and/or contemporary context of power, inequity and oppression in the natural sciences.
• Faculty recognize DEI is informed by conversation with current students, alumni and the local community; faculty are committed to engaging in these conversations.
• Faculty will recruit diverse scholars to give research talks in departmental seminars.
• Faculty are committed to recruiting, selecting and retaining diverse and highly engaged colleagues.
• Faculty and staff will curate and disseminate resources that connect course learning goals to scholarships, honor societies, and research opportunities. The Department will lift up opportunities for historically marginalized populations in STEM.
• Faculty and staff will collaborate with other departments to develop anti-racist and inclusive curricula.  
• Form a standing departmental committee that annually reviews anti-racist and inclusive practices in curricula, pedagogy and scholarship.

Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Develop an understanding of the fundamentals and the applications of current chemical knowledge in the disciplines of organic, inorganic, biochemical, analytical, and physical chemistry.

2. Identify problems and apply chemical knowledge and problem-solving strategies to solve them.

3. Be able to work independently or in a team in a class or laboratory setting to solve scientific problems.

4. Be able to collect data, properly record data, and critically analyze and interpret experimental results within the context of specific experimental goals and objectives.

5. Develop proficiency in the use of standard laboratory equipment, modern instrumentation and classical techniques used in the chemistry laboratory to conduct experiments.

6. Become skilled in the use of computers for data acquisition, data analysis, and chemical computations.

7. Become competent in searching and using the scientific literature to obtain current information on a scientific topic or problem.

8. Learn and apply best practices for chemical safety and hygiene when working in the laboratory.

9. Develop skills in presenting chemical information or results and conclusions from experiments clearly and concisely in both written and oral form.

10.   Learn and demonstrate ethical scientific behavior.