College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

Investing in Malika Jeffries-EL

Malika Jeffries-EL is the first Gregory L. and Kathleen C. Geoffroy Faculty Fellow in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Raising funds for undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships and faculty support was one of President Gregory Geoffroy's first initiatives at Iowa State.

The initiative, called "Investing in People," was designed to enhance the university's quality and was announced by Geoffroy during his installation as Iowa State's 14th president in October 2001.

During his remarks that day, Geoffroy also took the lead in the initative. He announced that he and his wife, Kathy, had established a $150,000 endowment with the ISU Foundation, providing annual support for the teaching and research program of an assistant professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences during the first three years of the professor's appointment.

"The difference between a good university and a truly great university is the people," Geoffroy said during his installation. "Increased support for scholarships, fellowships and professorships is the best way to attract and retain great students and faculty."

The increased support from the Gregory L. and Kathleen C. Geoffroy Faculty Fellowship was an added incentive for Malika Jeffries-EL when she decided to come to Iowa State this fall as an assistant professor of chemistry.

"I had my choice of jobs," Jeffries-EL said. "But the department here is great and the faculty and staff have made me not only feel welcome, but like they were really glad that I am here on the faculty. I didn't get that feeling everywhere I interviewed.

"And the Geoffroy Fellowship was a great recruiting tool. I was reluctant to come to the Midwest having spent my entire life on the East Coast, but that added incentive made the choice a lot easier."

Jeffries-EL is the first Geoffroy Faculty Fellow, selected at the discretion of the LAS dean. She knows being the first will add additional pressure to her job.

"I don't want to be the one (Geoffroy Fellow) that people don't talk about a few years from now," she said. "I intend to do good work here."

For her three years as the Geoffroy Faculty Fellow, Jeffries-EL will have an additional $4000 to $5000 in discretionary funds. And she already knows how she will use the first installment.

Next May, the organic chemist will travel to Osaka, Japan, for the Seventh International Symposium on Function Pi-Electron Systems. The symposium, held every two years, brings together chemists, physicists, biologists and engineers to discuss recent developments in the field of pi-conjugated materials.

"This is an excellent conference in my field," Jeffries-EL said. "At the (2004) Cornell symposium I had lunch with a chair from (University of California) Berkeley and we had a nice discussion. By attending the conference in Japan I hope to meet others that I can collaborate with."

For now, however, Jeffries-EL is focused on getting her feet on the ground at Iowa State. Currently she is rolling up her sleeves, cleaning up and getting organized.

"I have a slight advantage in that I was the first Ph.D. advisee of my adviser (at George Washington University)," she said. "I've built a lab as a Ph.D. student. I learned a lot of things - not only what to do, but what not to do."

The organic chemist will investigate the design and synthesis of novel pi-conjugated polymers and the study of their properties in order to develop an understanding of the relationship between polymer structure and its properties. In particular she is interested in flat panel displays and sensing technologies.

She hopes to collaborate with faculty members not only in chemistry, but physics and chemical engineering at Iowa State.