John Pollard

Dr. John Pollard is the Dean of the W.A. Franke Honors College.  In addition, he is a Professor of Practice in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.  John has received numerous awards for his excellence in teaching and curricular development and is the co-author of the nationally recognized Chemical Thinking curriculum that is a prominent part of the introductory chemistry courses at the University of Arizona as well as other institutions nationally and internationally. John has been a champion for the implementation of evidence-based instructional approaches, has published research in understanding collaborative learning environments for chemistry and interdisciplinary general education courses, and was the faculty member who initiated the collaborative learning space movement on campus resulting in the conversion of over 40 classrooms to active learning environments that impacted the teaching practices of hundreds of faculty and the learning experiences of tens of thousands of students.    

Prior to being appointed as Dean at the W.A. Franke Honors College, John served as the Associate Dean where he led the design and implementation of several student-centered programs that resulted in the college being recognized as the Most Improved Honors College by the 2020-2021 Inside Honors publication.  From the implementation of a new innovative minor titled Future Earth Resilience, to designing and piloting some of the new innovative interdisciplinary pedagogy for the UA GE refresh, to hosting one of the largest and most impactive peer mentoring programs on campus, Pathways Through Honors (PATH), the W.A. Franke Honors College has been a hub of innovation both on campus and nationally and this expansion has been made possible by John’s leadership.   

 Dr. Pollard is a proud alumnus of the University of Arizona where he earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1996.  Additionally, in 1991, he earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Saint John’s University in Collegeville Minnesota.   

Admin
Tere Weiler, Executive Associate
520-621-6918
tweiler@arizona.edu