Kenneth R. Schug, Ph.D.

I have been associated since 1979 with the Chicago Area Health and Medical Careers Program which has the objective of increasing the number of physicians and other health professionals from historically under-represented ethnic minority populations, primarily African-American and Hispanic. The multi-component program provides motivational and other support activities (both academic and experiential) to students from 6th grade through medical school (and beyond). Funding has been provided over the years from a variety of sources including the Illinois Board of Higher Education, The U.S. Public Health Service, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,The Mellon Foundation, and the Chicago Community Trust. Each year approximately 1500 students participate in summer and/or academic year activities to strengthen their preparation for (and performance at) a health professional school. Further information is available on request.

For many years, I have participated in programs designed to assist K-12 teachers increase their effectiveness in teaching science and mathematics. Most recently (since 1986) this has been done through the SMILE (Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement), funded primarily by the National Science Foundation, the Illinois Board of Higher Education, and the Teachers Academy of the Chicago Public Schools. Intensive summer programs, focussed on providing an opportunity for participants to plan and present single topic lessons using the "phenomenological approach" are supplemented by academic year sessions in which teachers share teaching strategies with each other. Recent efforts have been focussed on schools within IIT's "neighborhood" as part of the institution's expanded community outreach initiative. Further information available on request.

Although I am no longer active in research, my former research activities were in the field of inorganic chemistry, primarily on reactions of transition metal complexes in aqueous solution, with special attention to the reactivity of coordinated ligands, the most productive arena being studies of lower valence (II & III) ruthenium compounds containing Ru-N bonds, e.g., the redox reaction between the [hexaammine Ru(III)] ion and aldehydes in alkaline solution to form [pentaammine Ru(II) nitrile] complexes. Four of my seven Ph.D. students were female and five of the seven pursued careers in higher education.