On a typical weekday between 1 and 4 p.m., Senior Lecturer in Chemistry Edelgard Morse tutors bewildered undergraduate students who are attempting to emerge from CH33: "Equilibrium, Rate, and Structure" with a passing grade. She has devoted the past 27 years of her life to that pursuit and was hired specifically for that purpose. Now she plans to end her residency at Brown and resign at the end of the semester.
"They're trying to kick me out because they have hired a lot of new people, and they are looking for space," Morse said.
Morse said she made the decision in September, after Associate Provost Nancy Dunbar informed her that her office would be relocated to another building because of imminent renovations to accommodate the new Environmental Change Initiative. The ECI, a part of the Plan for Academic Enrichment, is an interdisciplinary program that blends the social and hard sciences in an effort to address current ecological trends and resolve environmental conflicts such as climate change.
Dunbar said the program, which incorporates the departments of ecology and evolutionary biology, geological sciences, sociology and physics, would be most efficient if it were housed in Macmillan Hall - already a hub of research and development for chemistry, geology and environmental science. But one of the rooms that requires renovation for the ECI to make a smooth transition is Macmillan 213, Morse's office.
"We're making better, more intensive use of what is obviously a scarce resource, which is space," Dunbar said. "The understanding was that the tutorial program could be fully functional and move to a different location, but we didn't feel like we had as many choices for a program that was as large and complicated as the ECI."
Morse argues that relocating the tutorial center would be detrimental to the success of the CH33 program.
"I don't want to say that one can teach chemistry students anywhere," Morse said. "It has to be close to where the chemistry is, so they can come to me right before the lab."
While Morse offers extra help to students in CH33, they also have the option of transferring into the self-paced tutorial program if they are failing the course. These students have until the end of the second semester to finish the course with Morse and receive full credit.
While her resignation will have no effect on the majority of the nearly 500 students enrolled in CH33 this semester, the approximately 40 students enrolled in the tutorial program will be forced to return to Brown before the end of winter break to ensure that they have sufficient time to finish the program within the first or second week of spring semester.
The tutorial program was the direct result of a revolt that took place in April 1975, when approximately 40 minority students commandeered University Hall and issued a series of demands. After a 38-hour sit-in, administration officials agreed to certain concessions: in addition to improving the minority student recruitment program, the administration agreed to establish support programs in math, writing and chemistry to level the playing field for minority students with insufficient background in these subjects.
Prior to the creation of these programs, it was rare for a minority student to enter the fields of medicine, engineering or science at Brown, Morse said. In order to satisfy the requirements for these concentrations, students must complete introductory chemistry.
After the institution of the tutorial program, success rates for minority students rose. Since then, almost 500 minority students have entered medical school after graduation from Brown, according to Morse. Morse has aided approximately 1,000 students since her appointment, she said. Since 1998, she has offered her services from her current office, which was built adjacent to the chemistry labs for tutoring. Prior to that, she worked out of the Metcalf Chemistry building.
"This office is absolutely gorgeous," Morse said, referring to her current space. "When students come in here, they are often very depressed because they are failing a course, and they're usually freshmen. This room is more cheery."
While the chemistry department intends to find a replacement for Morse immediately, she said she does not think it is possible to find someone with as much experience.
"The thing that's sad is that anybody can fill anybody's position, but it takes a while before you get used to caring for the students," Morse said. "The next year or so will not be easy for whomever takes over."
Professor Richard Stratt, one of the three professors who teach CH33, has collaborated with Morse over the years to ensure that his students pass. "She's not going to be easy to replace," he said. "She's more than just a chemistry teacher. She's an advisor for these students."
During her appointment, Morse has prevented approximately one-sixth of the students enrolled in CH33 from failing, Stratt said.
"There has been fairly strong sentiment within the chemistry department that they don't understand at all why that particular space is being renovated," said Paul Williard, chair of the chemistry department. "It will be a loss to those individuals who have been working with her because she does a very, very good job."
Her students agree. "She's very good," said Mary Greene '06, who is taking the course to satisfy pre-med requirements. "Without it I'd probably fail, and if it were in another building, I'd still go."
Arielle Rames '07, a marine biology concentrator, said she would also make the trek to see Morse regardless of the location, but she's not certain that everyone shares her sentiments.
"People don't like to go very far away, especially when it starts getting cold," she said.
Unless Morse can be relocated to a room she deems adequate in Macmillan, she will resign, she said. While renovations are not scheduled to begin until winter break, there is no sign that the administration will renege on its plan to renovate the already cramped Macmillan instead of another building.
"There's a sense of maximizing our space," said Dunbar. "There will be lots more faculty and students in Macmillan than there were before."
