Pierce College Faculty Honors Chemistry Professor

Pierce College Chemistry Professor Ted Wood admits he hated high school chemistry.

The teacher at his Washington, D.C.-area school, Wood recalled, was more obsessed with solving equations than ensuring his students learned anything or got excited about chemistry

That’s the direct opposite of Wood’s teaching style.

“I present chemistry as a privilege we have to be able to understand how things behave,” Wood said. “Chemistry is so much fun and so informative.”

Wood’s commitment to teaching excellence is one of the hallmarks that makes him this year’s winner of the Pierce College Distinguished Faculty award.

Pierce College faculty and the Pierce College Federation of Teachers recently presented Wood with the honor, said John Lucas, a political science instructor and the federation’s vice president.

The award is based on the recipient’s contributions to Pierce College and the community and, most of all, the honoree’s teaching excellence, said Lucas, who organized this year’s selection committee.

The recognition comes with a $1,000 check from the Pierce College Foundation and the honor of delivering the Distinguished Faculty Address at a dinner at the college. Wood’s talk, given Saturday, March 2, was entitled “A Healthy Relationship with Science.”

“Ted has some really nice evaluations from students, and a lot of really glowing testimonials from his colleagues about how much he has added to Pierce College over the years,” Lucas said.

Wood, 58, of Olympia, has taught at Pierce College since 1989, and serves as coordinator of the chemistry department. His primary teaching assignment is organic chemistry.

During a recent lab at the Fort Steilacoom campus, chemistry students Folarin Durosawo and Ashlynn Van Der Meer cited Wood’s patience and willingness to help students understand the material.

“He explains things really well,” Van Der Meer said. “I love his lectures. He makes it fun and exciting. It’s not someone droning on and on.”

Phil Munoz is impressed with Wood’s zeal for chemistry, mixed in with his penchant for cracking jokes.

Munoz, who earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Washington, is taking pre-med classes at Pierce College. “Ted is the best teacher I’ve ever had,” Munoz said. “He’s super-passionate. His passion rubs off on the students.”

Wood knows firsthand the impact teachers can make. After his high school chemistry experience – which he considers the worst class he ever took – Wood entered college thinking he hated the subject. But since he planned to major in the sciences, he took chemistry in his freshman year to fulfill requirements. This time, the instructor was good.

“After the first (college) course, I kept taking more and more,” Wood said. “It wasn’t until my senior year I realized the specific science I really liked was, indeed, chemistry.”

He earned his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at the University of Maryland, and his master’s degree in chemistry, with an emphasis in biochemistry and molecular biology, at the University of Colorado.

What’s the attraction to a subject that typically induces groans from non-chemists? Thanks to chemistry, Wood said, he has a solid understanding of why leaves are green, what’s in a lake or why clouds form.

“It makes being on this planet more enjoyable,” said Wood, who skis, kayaks, sails and hikes in his free time. Chemistry provides “an understanding of why things do what they do.”

Besides participating on many faculty committees at Pierce College, he has coordinated faculty and staff conversation groups in Spanish, French and Mandarin Chinese. Last year, while he was  on sabbatical – a time designated to complete a project without having to teach – he volunteered to teach a class for an ill colleague, according to a nomination letter by Biological Science Instructor Mary Bath-Balogh.

“Ted has the most honest, unassuming, courteous, and intelligent personality ever,” Bath-Balogh wrote.  “… He consistently offers insightful, thoughtful guidance to colleagues, students, and administrators alike.”

 Wood has taught at universities, but prefers the community college level.

“Depending on the four-year school, teaching is not the primary job responsibility. You’re expected to be more of a scholar in the field. Here, we can focus on students and teaching. I’ve known for a long time, that’s what gets me excited,” he said. “We’re teachers here, pure and simple.”