North Dakota State University plans to merge its chemistry and biochemistry departments, in part to help the school compete for research dollars.
The merger, which needs approval from the state Board of Higher Education, unofficially took effect Sunday, said professor Kenneth Lipkowitz, who will become the new chemistry department chairman Aug. 1.
"The way I see it is it ends in the word 'chemistry,' so it should be part of the chemistry department," he said of the department of biochemistry and molecular biology.
Lipkowitz is a former chemistry professor at the Purdue School of Science and a director at the Indiana University School of Informatics, both in Indianapolis. Informatics is a new field of study that applies information technology to other fields, from health care and biology to journalism and economics.
Lipkowitz said he wants to rename the merged NDSU bodies the Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology to more accurately reflect their work.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I think what will set this department apart ... is having the molecular biology part," he said. "That way, NDSU stands above the noise out there, and it gives you the ability to grow into some new areas."
"It gives you a critical mass that allows you to compete with larger universities, that you now can't do," he said.
Biochemistry chairman Derek Killilea said he believes the merger "will strengthen both departments" because of the focus on biology.
The merger won't affect the undergraduate major in biochemistry and molecular biology approved by the Board of Higher Education last fall, he said.
But not everyone is excited about the merger.
James Fleeker, a biochemistry professor who retired May 15 after 37 years at NDSU, said he's glad he left this year so he doesn't have to be part of the "cutthroat" chemistry department.
The chemistry department is favored because it attracts research grants that contain extra money for other university uses, he said.
"They really have a high standard for getting lots of grants and overhead and, if you don't get them, you're out," he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
The biochemistry department was forced from Dunbar Hall in 1992, when the chemistry department received a federal grant to remodel the building, Fleeker said. Biochemistry was split between Loftsgard Hall and the Industrial Agriculture and Communications Center.
"The department's kind of been going downhill, because we were demoralized," Fleeker said.
The department also suffered from having both the College of Science and Mathematics and the Agricultural Experiment Station as its funding sources, said Arland Oleson, who was chairman of the department from 1988 to 1995.
"We were kind of the poor stepchild for years and years, but we did pretty well," said Oleson, who retired a year and a half ago after 33 years at NDSU.
With Oleson's and Fleeker's positions still open, and another faculty member's position being eliminated because of cuts in the experiment station budget, Fleeker said he's concerned about the impact on classes.
"I don't know if they're going to have enough bodies to cover all the teaching," he said.
Lipkowitz said the positions will be filled, but first he wants to hire staff that faculty members can rely on to help with their research and teaching.
Material sciences is one area he hopes to expand research.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I want to get the infrastructure built first and make a smooth transition to hiring people," he said.
Oleson said he believes the university should have a separate biochemistry and molecular biology department. But as he neared retirement and the department lost productivity and research dollars, he said he knew something had to change.
"I spent a third of a century in that department, and in a way it's like seeing one of your children disappear from the scene," he said.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Mike Nowatzki at (701) 241-5528
