Retiring Faculty: Colin MacKay

Colin F. MacKay, John Farnum Professor of Chemistry, steps down this spring after 41 years as a member of the Haverford faculty. A Connecticut native, MacKay migrated west to Notre Dame as an undergraduate, receiving his diploma in 1950. He enrolled at the University of Chicago in that same year, where he studied under Nobel Prize chemist Willard Libby. While completing his Ph.D. in 1956, MacKay was offered a temporary, one-year position in the Haverford chemistry department, an offer the young chemist accepted. So in the fall of 1956, MacKay headed back east to take a teaching position he would hold for the rest of his career.

Specializing in physical chemistry, MacKay has centered his research on the chemistry of the free atom. He has published extensively on hot atom chemistry and carbonyl carbene chemistry, and is co-author of the widely-used college text, Principles of Physical Chemistry. His research interests also include mechanisms of amino acid production in primitive Earth atmosphere and photochemistry initiated by CO₂ pulsed infra-red lasers. MacKay's work has won him several awards, including the Philadelphia Institute of Chemists 1987 Honor Scroll and the Sears Campus Leadership Award in 1990.

MacKay has been an integral part in the growth of the Haverford chemistry department. He was one of the driving forces behind a the restructuring of the department's curriculum in the 1960's. Emphasis was shifted away from more traditional forms of teaching chemistry to incorporating hands-on laboratory experience into an undergraduate's education. MacKay also added a personal touch to his teaching, opening his home to students for discussion groups and chemistry department social events. The circular arrangement of chairs, benches, and sofas in his living room reveal that he is ever-prepared for an onslaught of young chemistry minds.

MacKay has also been active at Haverford outside of the laboratory. In 1982-83 he served as chairman of the Honor Code Review Committee, which took on the daunting task of revising the College's Honor Code. Under MacKay's guidance, the Committee recommended changes in trial procedure and adoption of measures to promote discussion of the Code within the community.

Professor MacKay's wife Ann, also worked for Haverford in a variety of different capacities.