Ed Zovinka, a professor of Chemistry, completed his 25th year of teaching at Saint Francis at the end of the 2019 spring semester and an event is planned to celebrate this milestone.

On Friday, Oct. 25, chemistry alumni will return to speak to high school students and current SFU students for “Celebrate Chemistry Day.” At 3 p.m. that day, current and former students will celebrate Zovinka’s 25 years at SFU. Chemistry alumni are invited back to help celebrate the occasion.

Prior to this celebration of Zovinka’s career at the University, a morning session will be held for high school students. In the afternoon, mentoring sessions will be conducted so students can talk about jobs in pharmacy, research, water treatment and government. Guest speakers include Erika Liska, Anne Arnold, Anne Gorman and David Kozak.

Zovinka said he loves teaching and that his students have also taught him many things, including how to be patient, as well as how to be a better person inside and outside of the classroom.

Zovinka recently finished writing a children’s book that will be published later this year. The book features 40 ROCK-like (Rural Outreach Chemistry for Kids) experiments aimed for kids ages 8 to 12. The book is currently in the production/editorial stage and is expected to be available next month.

For more information on Zovinka’s tenure at Saint Francis, and to find out more about the Chemistry Department’s ROCK program, listen to the podcast below: