2012 Department Retreat
July 11, 2012
The faculty and staff of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry enjoyed a retreat at Timp Lodge on June 28. The day started with the department administration cooking and serving pancakes to everyone. The mountain air seemed to improve appetites and a lot of pancakes were consumed. After breakfast, faculty and staff met to hear Dr. James Faulconer, philosophy professor, talk on the subject, “Faith and Stuff: Being an LDS Scholar/Scientist.” Then after a short break, faculty met to discuss the 1st year chemistry curriculum while staff loaded into vans and were treated to a geologic tour of Provo Canyon conducted by Dr. Scott Ritter of the Geology Department.
Lunch consisted of make-your-own deli sandwiches and cookies. After lunch, faculty met to hear speakers talk about funding and the department graduate program. After these discussions, Josh Price, Emily Bates and Roger Harrison presented an overview of their research.
While the faculty met, staff had the opportunity to learn some valuable information from Peg Schmidt and Cathy Wies about benefits at BYU. After that, Matt Smith from Human Resources talked about conducting crucial conversations.
Attendees enjoyed free time at 3:00 p.m. Spouses were invited to join the retreat at that time. Some individuals hiked to Stewart Falls, some relaxed and worked on computers while others enjoyed some quiet time reading a favorite book.
Faculty, staff, and their partners met together at 6:00 p.m. for a summer barbeque dinner catered by Marvellous Catering.
By Peggy Erickson, Department of Chemistry
Photos:
Top left-- geological tour of Provo Canyon
Bottom left-- pancake breakfast at the lodge
Top center-- lunch at the lodge
Bottom center-- Dr. James Faulconer
Right-- hike to Stewart Falls