After serving 22 years as a Reed chemist, and the past two years as Acting Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Pat McDougal has decided to retire from Reed effective June 1, 2013. A retirement celebration will be held during Reedfayre 2013 on Friday, June 14, 2:15-4:15 PM, in Vollum Lounge.
Practically since his arrival at Reed in fall 1990, Pat has enjoyed iconic status among chemistry students as a maker of molecules, and among faculty and administrators as a source of wisdom on all things Reed. Pat’s enthusiasm for chemistry and his devotion to Reed students can be seen in the large number of academic offspring who have found jobs as synthetic chemists, either as faculty or in the chemical industry.
While Pat is well-known across campus for his teaching contributions in Chem 202, 343 (re-dubbed years ago by worshipful Reedies as “Advanced Pat”), 470, and Senior Symposium, few members of the community were aware of his pre-Reed history as an organic chemistry graduate student/TA in the late 70’s at University of Wisconsin-Madison (PhD ’82), or his stint as a chemistry professor at Georgia Tech (1983-90). Some of these unfamiliar stories and photographs (below: Pat on the streets of Madison ca. 1979-80) were shared by UW classmate and Reed colleague, Prof. Alan Shusterman (PhD ’81) at the annual end-of-year faculty lunch on May 17.
