Jack A. Kampmeier, a University of Rochester professor emeritus of chemistry who was nationally recognized for his innovative approach to teaching, died March 26 following an illness that began with pneumonia. He was 75.
Professor Kampmeier became nationally known for developing the Peer-led Team Learning Workshop model for teaching chemistry. The workshops help students become actively engaged in their own learning by working through problems in a supportive and interactive environment. The concept has been implemented in many departments within the College, serving about one-quarter of University of Rochester undergraduates annually. It has spread to other schools in the University as well, and has been adopted at more than 100 colleges and universities across the country.
Professor Kampmeier earned his doctorate in chemistry in 1960 from the University of Illinois and came to the University of Rochester that same year. He became a full professor in 1971. Professor Kampmeier served as department chair in chemistry from 1975 to 1979, and as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 1988 to 1991.
"We lost a great and dedicated teacher, the inventor of the peer-led workshop method of teaching, and a stalwart of our programming for new faculty, UR Year One," said University Provost Ralph Kuncl. "As an emeritus professor of chemistry, he helped pass the torch to younger faculty throughout the University. The loss will be deeply and sincerely felt."
Professor Kampmeier came to the University to establish a program of teaching and research in organic chemistry with an emphasis on organic reaction and free radical chemistry. His research group did seminal work on the structure and stereochemistry of vinyl radicals, and they developed a powerful mechanistic tool for elucidating the mechanism of radical substitutions at nonsterogenic atoms. Nearly a decade later, his research group turned its attention to organometallic reaction mechanisms.
"Jack Kampmeier embodies the perfect scholar," said Robert K. Boeckman Jr., the Marshall D. Gates Jr. Professor of Chemistry and Chair. At the time of Professor Kampmeier's retirement in 2005, Professor Boeckman described him as "an esteemed colleague, an excellent communicator, a visionary and passionate leader, an untiring advocate for students, and an exemplary citizen of the University community."
Professor Kampmeier received many teaching awards, including the University's Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 1974 and the College's Goergen Award for Distinguished Achievement and Artistry in Undergraduate Teaching in 1999, and he was the co-recipient of the 2008 James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry from the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society.
Professor Kampmeier is survived by his wife, Anne, of Rochester, and his three children, Scott, Margaret, and Stephen. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 30, at the Interfaith Chapel on the River Campus.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Jack A. Kampmeier Fund for Peer-led Workshop Education in Chemistry at the University of Rochester, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry, P.O. Box 270216, Rochester, N.Y. 14627.