FACULTY FOCUS: GAIL STEEHLER

Dr. Gail Steehler joined the chemistry department at Roanoke College in 1985. For the past two years, she has served as the department chair. She received her degrees in Inorganic Chemistry from Ohio State and the University of Wisconsin. Her love of teaching and Inorganic Chemistry is what prompted her to join the faculty at Roanoke College, allowing her to do what she claims are her two favorite things. “I try to encourage my students to ask questions and seek answers, to look for connections and reasons,” Dr. Steehler said.

Dr. Steehler is right on track with her job as the department chair. In addition to her research in synthetic inorganic chemistry, she tries “to keep the chemistry department running smoothly.” It is her focus to keep the laboratory program and all the instruments owned by the department up to date and working well. The faculty in the chemistry department always “seems to be writing grants for new instruments or programs,” Dr. Steehler said. “The chemistry department is very student-focused, so we are always working on something that we think will improve the educational experience for our students.”

Dr. Steehler is one in a long line of chemists that has helped the chemistry department become well-respected and successful. With the help of Dr. Steehler and the rest of the department, Roanoke College will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the chemistry department which dates back to 1905.

It was only 100 years ago that the “department of chemistry was recognized as a separate department from the other sciences and math,” said Dr. Oetgen, a chemistry professor at Roanoke College. During the first few years of having a separate department, there was only one professor, William A. Smith, who taught at Roanoke College from 1885-1908. Other teaching duties were usually taken on by recent graduates of Roanoke College who served as “Assistants in Chemistry.”

Over the years, the chemistry department has brought in some of the most accredited educators as well as some of the finest apparatus and equipment for the laboratories. For much of the early history of Roanoke College, the science laboratories were located on the third floor of the Administration Building where there was one lab and one room for lectures. In 1941, with the support of the family of Henry R. Lucas, the chemistry department moved into the new Lucas Hall. While the department occupied Lucas Hall for 30 years, the chemistry department grew in both quality and in numbers. Rather than students taking Chemistry as a requisite, fascination and curiosity pulled them in. With the overflowing numbers of students involved, the department moved into Trexler Hall where it continues to serve Roanoke.

Whether it was introducing the excitement of chemistry to freshmen or jumpstarting an organization that would serve as the foundation of students’ success, the chemistry department at Roanoke College has flourished in the past 100 years. With the leadership of faculty and staff whose goals are to stay student-focused, the chemistry department is worthy of the Council of Independent College’s Heuer Award received for “Excellence in Undergraduate Education.” This success is only the beginning for the faculty and students at Roanoke College, so come and celebrate the past 100 years as we honor the achievements of the chemistry department.

Learn more at www.roanoke.edu/chemistry