Park Wiseman
Professor Emeritus of Chemistry
Professor, Ball State University, 1947-1982
Ph.D., Purdue University, 1944
M.S. Purdue University, 1942
B.A., Depauw University, 1940
Dr. Wiseman joined the Ball State faculty in 1947 and became the first chairman of the chemistry department when it was formed in 1965. His undergraduate education was at DePauw (BA in chemistry), and he earned an MS and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Purdue. His scholastic honors include the Rector Scholarship, and various honor societies: Gold Key, Phi Eta Sigma, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Lambda Upsion, Sigma Xi, and Sigma Zeta. That’s more Greek letters than one would see in a three dimensional Schrodinger’s equation for a protein!
After joining the BSU faculty in 1947, Dr. Wiseman was promoted to full professor in 1956. He was the first Head of the chemistry department when it was formed in 1965 and served for 4 years. He was also instrumental in setting up the 43-hour chemistry major program and getting its accreditation by the American Chemical Society. Perhaps just as important is that he set the tone in the department that remains positive and focuses on helping students learn. He became emeritus faculty in 1982. He is married to Mrs. Majorie Wiseman who served as Director of Circulation in University Libraries at Ball State for many years.