Meet the Faculty

Division: Science, Mathematics and Computing
Appointment: 2008

Why I came to Simon’s Rock
My last assignment in the U. S. Army was at the United States Military Academy in the Department Chemistry & Life Science. Oftentimes, conversations with the young majors and captains serving as instructors turned to “What do you want to do when you retire?”—Armyspeak for when you finally grow up—and my response was, “Live out in the country and teach smart students at a small undergraduate-only college.” In my first year as a sabbatical replacement, I realized I had achieved that goal living in Great Barrington, walking to school, and engaging the bright, eager, hungry-for-knowledge mind of the Simon’s Rock student.

A favorite Simon's Rock teaching moment
I recognize students who stay with general chemistry through the second semester by presenting them with a lapel pin of an element of the periodic table that in some way represents their name; Rachel Feltman sports a rutherfordium pin, Rf; Chanese Forte walked away with californium, Cf. After earning an Li (for lithium) pin, Lindsey Longway wore it her first day in organic chemistry lab for good luck; she earned bragging rights to be there.

My Teaching Style
Number 6 on my 7-item teaching philosophy list is “One learns when one teaches. Expect students to teach themselves, and function as pathfinder, azimuth corrector, advisor, and guide. Not lecturer.” I employ the Socratic method; when a student asks a question, I reply with a series of questions taking the student back to a point where he does know the answer, then another question leads to another answer, and so forth, until the student has answered her own question.

Education:
BS Chemistry, University of Notre Dame, 1978
MS Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, 1989
PhD Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, 1998
MS National Security and Strategic Studies (with honors), Naval War College, 1999

Prior Positions:

• Deputy Head and Academy Professor, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY 1999-2008
• West Point Fellow, Naval War College 1998-1999
• Assistant Professor, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY 1989-1992
• Various leadership and command & staff positions throughout the world in the United States Army, 1978-2008

Areas of Interest:

• Interdisciplinary integration of chemistry education and history, literature, politics, society, and other scientific disciplines;
• Classroom research into formative assessment.

Publications/Book Chapters/Exhibitions/Performances:

• Dooley, Patricia A. “How Do You Say ‘Sulfuric Acid’ in Dari?” Chemistry as a Second Language: Chemical Education in a Globalized Society. January 1, 2010, 121-138.
• Huang, Hai; Dooley, Patricia A.; Harris, Constance M.; Harris, Thomas M.; and Stone, Michael P., “Differential Base Stacking Interactions Induced by Trimethylene Interstrand DNA Cross-Links in the 5’-CpG-3’ and 5’-GpC-3’ Sequence Contexts,” Chem. Res. Toxicol., 2009, 22 (11): 1810–1816.
• Dooley, Patricia A.; Tsarouhtsis, Dimitrios; Korbel, Gregory A.; Nechev, Lubomir V.; Shearer, Jill; Zegar, Irene S.; Harris, Constance M.; Stone, Michael P.; and Harris, Thomas M., “Structural Studies of an Oligodeoxynucleotide Containing a Trimethylene Interstrand Cross-Link in a 5’-(CpG) Motif: Model of a Malondialdehyde Cross-Link,” J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 123(8): 1730-1739.
• Dooley, Patricia A.; Zhang, Mingzhou; Korbel, Gregory A.; Nechev, Lubomir V.; Harris, Constance M.; Stone, Michael P.; and Harris, Thomas M., “NMR Determination of the Conformation of a Trimethylene Interstrand Cross-Link in an Oligodeoxynucleotide Duplex Containing a 5’-d(GpC) Motif,” J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 125(1): 62-72.
• Blackman, Merrill S.; Dooley, Patricia; Kuchinski, Bill; and Chapman, David, “It Worked a Different Way,” College Teaching 50(1): 27-28.

Grants and Awards

• United States Military Academy Fellow to the Naval War College, 1998-1999
• Four-Year Army ROTC Scholarship, University of Notre Dame, 1974-1978 (Distinguished Military Graduate)