New Face
Professor Ralph Nicholas Salvatore
by Valerie Verdejo
Issue date: 1/1/07 Section: People From Lehman
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Dr. Ralph Nicholas Salvatore is the new Chairman of Lehman's Chemistry Department. He comes with a lot of energy and plans to incorporate changes in the department. He replaces Dr. Marc Lazarus, who had served for two years and is now serving as Dean of Natural and Social Sciences.
Salvatore received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1994 from Iona College. He received his Master's of Science from SUNY Stony Brook, and his Ph.D. from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. Before coming to Lehman, Salvatore was a faculty member at Western Kentucky University until 2005, and the University of Massachusetts until 2006.
Salvatore feels students need to know there's someone available to listen to them and help guide them. "Being personable with students is an important aspect [in teaching]," he commented. "When I teach General Chemistry to my students, I am never the Chairman, I am their teacher, and I let them know that I always have an open door for whenever they need help or advisement."
When Salvatore came to Lehman, he wanted to start with a fresh approach and determine what systems work or not work. He is currently exploring why the enrollment of students in biology is higher than that of students enrolled in chemistry. "I want to encourage [students] to see chemistry in a new light. I want to get them involved in undergraduate research and higher research opportunities and make them aware of the career paths that pursuing a career in chemistry offers."
Salvatore said he came to Lehman for a new challenge and to return to his roots. "I grew up here in Yonkers and want to give something back," he commented. He is also collaborating with his colleagues in the Chemistry Department on new projects in the field of Organic Chemistry. These projects pertain to doing work with Cancer, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, to name a few. Other projects involve Green Chemistry, which is the study of chemistry for pollution prevention.
"I want to resurrect some of the old Chemistry courses that haven't been offered at Lehman in awhile, such as Medicinal Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, as well as the Introduction to Forensic Science class, which was cancelled this semester due to low enrollment," mentions Salvatore. He also hopes to work with the Anthropology and Biology departments, to see if there is any interdisciplinary chemistry course he can offer that will correlate with their major course requirements. He also mentioned that he is looking forward to the new Science building that is underway. "I am very excited with the direction the [Chemistry] department is heading."
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Salvatore feels students need to know there's someone available to listen to them and help guide them. "Being personable with students is an important aspect [in teaching]," he commented. "When I teach General Chemistry to my students, I am never the Chairman, I am their teacher, and I let them know that I always have an open door for whenever they need help or advisement."
When Salvatore came to Lehman, he wanted to start with a fresh approach and determine what systems work or not work. He is currently exploring why the enrollment of students in biology is higher than that of students enrolled in chemistry. "I want to encourage [students] to see chemistry in a new light. I want to get them involved in undergraduate research and higher research opportunities and make them aware of the career paths that pursuing a career in chemistry offers."
Salvatore said he came to Lehman for a new challenge and to return to his roots. "I grew up here in Yonkers and want to give something back," he commented. He is also collaborating with his colleagues in the Chemistry Department on new projects in the field of Organic Chemistry. These projects pertain to doing work with Cancer, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, to name a few. Other projects involve Green Chemistry, which is the study of chemistry for pollution prevention.
"I want to resurrect some of the old Chemistry courses that haven't been offered at Lehman in awhile, such as Medicinal Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, as well as the Introduction to Forensic Science class, which was cancelled this semester due to low enrollment," mentions Salvatore. He also hopes to work with the Anthropology and Biology departments, to see if there is any interdisciplinary chemistry course he can offer that will correlate with their major course requirements. He also mentioned that he is looking forward to the new Science building that is underway. "I am very excited with the direction the [Chemistry] department is heading."