Ruth Logan

Professor

“We pride ourselves in how we teach science at SMC. When our students transfer, they can compete—or even outperform—those who’ve gone directly to a university.”

Architecture. It’s something that Professor Ruth Logan—in her 24 years of teaching science at SMC—has come to know very well, on a cellular and molecular level. And though she’s seen a lot of “ground breaking” discoveries made my her students, it’s another sort of ground breaking that is uppermost in her thoughts these days. For on April 22, 1997, the ceremonial shovel will take the first bit of earth at the site of SMC’s new Science Building. And Ruth—as chair of the Life Sciences department at SMC—has been involved with every step in planning the new building.

“When the earthquake knocked our old building down, we were able to adjust," says Ruth. “But our temporary Science Village wasn’t adequate to do the kinds of experiments we expect our students to perform. The new building has been designed by its users—in the Life Science and Physical Science departments—in every aspect of creating labs, storage cupboards, fume hoods, and general arrangements,” she says. “It’s also incredibly accessible to students with disabilities, and we’ll be filling the building with cutting-edge equipment that will enable us to provide the best education in science that you can get at any community college in California.”

Ruth’s vision for teaching science at SMC is focused like a laser on the future, even while it enfolds the SMC traditions of excellence. “We will always be concerned with the effectiveness of that invaluable one-on-one experience between instructor and students,” she says. “But we can see our current development being much more technological as well: computer projection systems, sophisticated audio-visuals, and safety factors beyond any current standard. We’ll be preparing students to enter the field of science in a state of absolute readiness.”

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