RIT professor earns two awards for her work improving chemistry education

Rochester, New York – Work to improve organic chemistry lessons and make learning more accessible has earned Rochester Institute of Technology professor Christina Goudreau Collison two teaching honors.

The professor in RIT’s School of Chemistry and Materials Science received the 2026 James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry from the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society. She also received the 2026 Centennial Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching from Iota Sigma Pi, the National Honor Society for Women in Chemistry.

Her career began with a different goal. As a first-generation college student, she planned to become a doctor. An organic chemistry class and research experience shifted her interests, eventually leading her toward university teaching and a doctorate in organic synthesis.

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After joining RIT in 2003, Goudreau Collison continued adjusting her teaching methods. About a decade later, she worked with colleague Jeremy Cody to redesign a laboratory activity, giving students more responsibility while guiding them through concepts in stages.

A paper about the activity prompted professors elsewhere to request more materials. That interest helped lead to a textbook and National Science Foundation grants supporting changes to organic chemistry instruction.

“I couldn’t have planned for the research projects I’m working on now,” she said. “You start with one set of goals, but if you are paying attention, you may find that pivoting toward a new goal will be more impactful. I feel lucky that I was paying attention.”

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She launched Reformed Experimental Activities in 2017. Another effort began after Jennifer Swartzenberg, a National Technical Institute for the Deaf support faculty member serving the College of Science, identified gaps in American Sign Language terminology for STEM subjects.

The resulting Sign Language Incorporation in Chemistry Education project received the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Inclusion and Diversity Prize in 2022 and an NSF grant in 2023.

Goudreau Collison also earned RIT’s Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2013.

“I really love teaching at RIT,” said Goudreau Collison. “It’s kind of incredible to get an award for something you love to do. This was a huge surprise, and I am really honored to be recognized.”