Using Growth Mindset and GRIT to Truly Learn Organic Chemistry
Dr. Richard Mullins, joined by a student, talk about controlling your own destiny in Organic Chemistry. Rick outlines strategies used to help students truly learn how to master the challenging content.
Dr. Richard Mullins, Professor of Organic Chemistry, Xavier University
Maeve Murdock, Student, University of Notre Dame
Join professor and author Dr. Richard Mullins of Xavier University as he talks about controlling your own destiny in Organic Chemistry. Rick will outline the strategies and techniques he's used in his own classroom to help students truly learn how to master the challenging content. Hear directly from a student on how using these techniques had a positive impact on their course experience, success, and overall college mindset.
Recorded:
Duration:
About the speakers
Dr. Richard Mullins, Xavier University
Richard J. Mullins grew up in Middle Tennessee where his love of sports and science was cultivated. He attended Centre College, where he pitched for the college baseball team. Though he entered college intending to pursue a career in medicine, an inspiring organic chemistry professor changed his path, leading him to graduate in 1998 with a BS in chemistry and plans for a career as an organic chemist. Upon enrolling at Indiana University, he considered multiple careers in chemistry before soon realizing that teaching at an undergraduate institution was his calling. After earning his PhD from Indiana University in 2004, specializing in organic chemistry, Rick was hired as a tenure track professor at Xavier University.
He has taught at Xavier University ever since, being recently promoted in 2017 to professor. His teaching has been recognized with multiple awards, including the Joan G. McDonald Teaching Award and the Alpha Sigma Nu Bishop Fenwick Teacher of the Year Award. His research has traditionally been focused on the development and application of new methods for the synthesis of small natural products with potential medicinal applications. Rick lives in Cincinnati, OH with his wife, Mary, daughter, Maggie, and son, John. When not teaching or writing about organic chemistry, Rick still enjoys participating in sports by coaching his son’s select baseball team, running marathons and half-marathons, and supporting his favorite college and professional sports teams. Though records can’t confirm it, because of his longevity in the sport, Rick is the (self-proclaimed) all-time leading scorer in intramural basketball history at Xavier University.
Maeve Murdock, Student, University of Notre Dame
Maeve Murdock is a Biological Sciences major on the Evolution & Genomics track, entering her sophomore year at Notre Dame. Maeve is from the northern suburbs of Chicago, near Lake Michigan. A gymnast from age one all the way through high school, she is now retired from the sport and can usually be found outside playing tennis, going for a walk, or reading a book at the beach. Maeve loves to spend time with family and friends, travel, and try new things.