Scott Kassel

As Chairperson, my primary responsibility is to ensure that my colleagues, instructors, staff, and students have the resources necessary to succeed and to achieve their goals. The Department of Chemistry at Villanova University has 78 chemistry majors, 103 biochemistry majors (through the Biochemistry program), 20 full-time and 41 part-time masters students, 17 tenured or tenure-track faculty, 1 full-time continuing instructor, 8 full-time temporary instructors, 8-14 part-time instructors, 4 postdoctoral associates, and 9 support staff. In addition, we provide service courses to over 3000 students each year across four colleges of the University.

My specific responsibilities include: coordinating the recruitment and hiring of tenure-track, non-tenure track full-time, and part-time adjunct faculty; facilitating rank and tenure, and periodic faculty evaluations; coordinating course schedules and staffing; facilitating the review and revision of curricula; ensuring instructional and research laboratories are properly equipped and maintained, coordinating the undergraduate research program, setting charges and serving on departmental committees, ensuring chemical hygiene and safety protocols are being followed, and supervising support staff.

Areas of professional interest: Administrative - Strategic planning, curricular review and design; Research - transition metal catalysis, synthesis and coordination chemistry of multifunctional phosphine ligands, quasiracemic and co-crystalline materials, allylic oxidation and epoxidation of olefins, and chemical crystallography; Teaching - undergraduate and graduate courses in inorganic chemistry, general chemistry, and chemical crystallography.

Companies

• Chair, Department of Chemistry Villanova University (2007)
• Associate Professor of Chemistry Villanova University (2006)
• Assistant Professor of Chemistry Villanova University (2000 — 2006)
• Visiting Scholar UC San Diego (2004 — 2004)
• Visiting Scholar University of Delaware (2000 — 2000)
• Visiting Assistant Professor Villanova University (1998 — 2000)

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) University of Florida (1994 — 1998)
• MS Illinois State University (1992 — 1994)
• BA University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (1986 — 1991)