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Study abroad experiences, relatively rare in chemistry programs and encouraged by the American Chemical Society, are a way to advance the cultural competence of students. We describe a study abroad experience that includes an upper level chemistry course on fermentation. Many articles have described the integration of fermentation into lecture and lab classes, providing instructors with resources for course development. The described course demonstrates several novel features: a model for the development of a study abroad experience, a strategy for increasing student enrollment, and a mechanism to ensure student engagement with the fermentation content before and during the study abroad trip.

Upper level chemistry electives provide an opportunity to integrate modern interdisciplinary topics into the chemistry curriculum. One such elective is Food Chemistry, a course first taught as part of a Common Read program. The course has changed over time to incorporate activities designed to illustrate the connection between food and chemistry as well as reinforce soft skills like team work and oral communication. In addition to student learning outcomes, benefits for faculty and the department have been realized and are described.

Extending the usefulness of the instruments we have has never been more important. The current economic crisis has prompted all of us to re-examine how money is spent and to try to minimize our expenditures because of future uncertainties. We have been able to breathe new life into an aging 60 MHz NMR spectrometer used by hundreds of undergraduates each year in the second-year organic chemistry sequence. Minor repairs have been necessary over the years but the recent loss of the plotter necessitated a more extensive "repair". With the help of a physicist, the instrument output is now routed through a two-channel data acquisition device to a laptop. The data gathered is saved as a comma-delimited text file, and an Excel spreadsheet is used for analysis of the data. Not only does the new system allow faster data collection and processing, it also allows students to save data to a thumb drive. With minimal expense, the 20-year-old spectrometer has been modernized and continues to be an essential part of the organic laboratory.

This paper discusses ideas on how to incorporate Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services into a Catholic college nursing curriculum. Questions addressed include: What does the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops say is the purpose of the Ethical and Religious Directives? Is the profession of nursing a particularly difficult one in which to incorporate Catholic teachings? Can we share with our students a code of nursing ethics that supports the Ethical and Religious Directives? Promoting faculty and students' learning about Catholic teachings may be a step to changing what Blessed John Paul II called the culture of death into one of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]