From: Shannon Nephew <millersc**At_Symbol_Here**PLATTSBURGH.EDU>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Admissions Tours in the Laboratories
Date: Thu, 4 Feb 2021 15:01:15 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: CAEYT+dZ3snpRbWS+ru++SH6p-G6bhPY1CKbVV99xAt0bAZHm6A**At_Symbol_Here**mail.gmail.com
In-Reply-To


Thank you everyone! This is very helpful and some great ideas in here that I think we could certainly implement.
I love Monique's STEM Open house for sure...we have done something similar in the past, and it really is the best way to see the labs (with faculty and students present who know much about them). One of our main concerns is that the people who conduct the tours are usually not the students who are familiar with our labs, so that might be worth chatting with Admissions about...maybe a separate component of the tour for those interested in that aspect. I also loved the idea about getting some of the science students to work with Admissions doing tours!
We do have large windows on doors (two doors per lab, in fact), so a more general tour can get a pretty good view.
I have had certain tours contact me and ask if I can bring specific families around and talk about our science programs (one that I can recall was a potential hockey recruit, and the coach came with us).
One main problem with the current situation is that often, none of the faculty or staff are around and children, food/drinks, etc. are brought in on these tours. We were alerted to this one day when a bottle of kombucha was broken in the lab and it was found after the fact).

Thank you so much for all of your input. I will definitely share it with our Chemical Hygiene Committee.


SHANNON C. NEPHEW,
MS, CSM
Chemical Hygiene Officer, Hudson Hall Science Complex Building Manager
Science Programs and Facilities Support Professional
Hudson Hall 317
101 Broad Street
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
plattsburgh.edu
Facebook Logo Twitter Logo Instagram Logo Snapchat Logo LinkedIn Logo
SUNY Plattsburgh Logo


On Thu, Feb 4, 2021 at 11:58 AM Monique Wilhelm <mwilhelm**At_Symbol_Here**umich.edu> wrote:
Hi Shannon,

This is a great question.

I am on a small campus and most admissions events do not allow visitors in the labs. However, we do offer one special admissions/recruitment event for students interested in STEM every October. They call it a STEM Open House. During that event, a few select labs are prepped to lower hazards for the event and lab faculty and staff, including myself, are available to interact with the guests and ensure that the experience is informative as well as safe.

Cheers,
_________________________________________________________
Monique Wilhelm
Lab Manager
CAS, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry | The University of Michigan-Flint
303 E. Kearsley St | Room 572 MSB | Flint, MI | 48502-1950


On Thu, Feb 4, 2021 at 11:14 AM Denise Beautreau <deb313**At_Symbol_Here**lehigh.edu> wrote:
Hi Shannon,
I see that you are at my alma mater. There has always been a policy of no entry to anyone that has not been trained into any of the teaching or research labs and all the institutions I have worked at. Admissions tours for undergraduates were never allowed into the lab spaces. If anything, when I have been part of renovation projects, there have been design accommodations to allow for peeking in through doors with glass or larger windows so students and their families can get a better view. Now on the graduate side, things were slightly different with regards to access to research spaces. I know of some faculty that would allow potential students to tour their personal research space, some would even tour common spaces such as instrument rooms while others would not, and others that just did the peek in for all areas. My experience with Admissions folks and the people in various departments has been mostly positive with adhering to these guidelines.

Denise

On Thu, Feb 4, 2021 at 10:28 AM Shannon Nephew <millersc**At_Symbol_Here**plattsburgh.edu> wrote:
Hello Colleagues,

This issue has been discussed a few times in our Laboratory Chemical Hygiene Safety Meetings here on campus and our Committee easily reached a consensus regarding Admissions Tours coming through our laboratories and/or research spaces.

Our laboratories are accessed via a card swipe and students can only access the lab during their designated lab time (or a close window to that). Some labs choose no student access and the instructors let them in at the start themselves. Our rule is that all student employees and faculty go through our annual safety training, and these student ambassadors from Admissions currently do not go through a safety training.

While meeting with my supervisor this morning, she and I thought it would be helpful to know how other campuses handle tours. When I went on college tours with my daughter, we peeked in the window of the labs and the tour guide explained various things about them. However, we did not usually enter the labs. Does your institution allow tours into the labs themselves?

Thank you for any insight you can offer, it is much appreciated!

Shannon
SHANNON C. NEPHEW,
MS, CSM
Chemical Hygiene Officer, Hudson Hall Science Complex Building Manager
Science Programs and Facilities Support Professional
Hudson Hall 317
101 Broad Street
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
plattsburgh.edu
Facebook Logo Twitter Logo Instagram Logo Snapchat Logo LinkedIn Logo
SUNY Plattsburgh Logo
--- For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas


--
Lehigh University COVID-19 Staying Connected:

Denise Beautreau
Director, Student Access & Success
Office of Diversity, Inclusion & Equity
Alumni Memorial Building, Suite 201
27 Memorial Drive West, Bethlehem, PA 18015
Office: (610) 758-3262

"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."

"No one has ever become poor by giving."


--- For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas
--- For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas
--- For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas

Previous post   |  Top of Page   |   Next post



The content of this page reflects the personal opinion(s) of the author(s) only, not the American Chemical Society, ILPI, Safety Emporium, or any other party. Use of any information on this page is at the reader's own risk. Unauthorized reproduction of these materials is prohibited. Send questions/comments about the archive to secretary@dchas.org.
The maintenance and hosting of the DCHAS-L archive is provided through the generous support of Safety Emporium.