James "Tiger" Gordon, Ph.D.
As an only child born to older parents, I grew up first in Chicago and
then in Northeast Arkansas. As a boy, I had a healthy fascination for
science. Neither of my parents graduated from high school, however, both
of them knew the importance of having a good education, and both of them
strongly encouraged me to get the best one possible and to pursue that
fascination.
After graduating from a relatively small high school in Gosnell,
Arkansas in 1982, I attended the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville
earning both a B.A. and M.S. in chemistry. I had planned to attend
medical school like many other students interested in science. However,
after not being admitted on my first attempt I began my graduated
studies in chemistry and found the true vocational passion for my life –
teaching chemistry. I left U of A and attended Iowa State University in
Ames, Iowa where I was very fortunate to work for one of the most
outstanding mentors both personally and professionally. I also met and
married my wife, Becky, while attending ISU.
Having earned a PhD in Analytical Chemistry, I was fortunate to land my
first (and only) teaching position at then Central Methodist College in
1993. I have greatly enjoyed my time at CMU and have learned to be a
better educator, mentor, and researcher because of the influence of
faculty members from across the campus. If I could sum up my teaching
philosophy in one thought it would be that I want to help students move
from thinking “so what” to “why is that”. I want help nurture in
students that healthy fascination for science that I had as a boy and
still have today. I understand that not everyone will be a scientist,
but I do believe that all of us should have a solid fundamental
understanding of science and mathematics. I strive with God’s help to be
the best teacher that I can be using His gifts and talents to accomplish
the work that He has given me to do.
As an analytical chemist, I enjoy using both instrumental and
wet-chemical methods to analyze the composition of samples. In our lab,
we particularly employ electrochemical methods of analysis. In addition,
we have done a great deal of work using calculator-based data collection
systems to explore both old and new chemical concepts. This work has
resulted in several student-authored publications. I am very proud of my
student’s work and seek as many different avenues as possible for them
to showcase their abilities. I encourage them to make oral presentations
and to write up their experiments for publication. My philosophy of
student research is: “Do you like to play in lab”? I want students to
play with ideas and experiment with techniques and try new things.
Student research is to be a time of learning and exploration so that
students can grow professionally. It is my sincerest hope that my
students will grow professionally, socially, and spiritually during
their time at Central Methodist University.
