Driven by curiosity, Arthur S. Brecher, PhD pursued a career as a biochemistry educator in order to influence others and to make a contribution in the world. He prepared for his career by obtaining a Bachelor of Science from the City College of the City University of New York in 1948. In 1956, he obtained a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of California, Los Angeles and began his career as a postdoctoral appointee at Purdue University. Then, from 1958 to 1960 he served as a biochemist for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Washington, DC. Dr. Brecher then went on to serve as an associate research scientist at Brooklyn State Hospital (now the Kingsboro Psychiatric Center) from 1960 to 1963. After this, he became an associate professor of biochemistry at The George Washington University from 1963 to 1969. He later joined the faculty at Bowling Green State University in 1969 as an associate professor, and was later promoted to a full professor of chemistry, a position he held until his retirement in 2014.
Civically, Dr. Brecher has been active with the Northwest Ohio Heart Association, serving as chairman of the heart health in young committee, and on the board of directors of the Wood County Cancer Unit. In addition, he has extended his expertise to the field by contributing numerous articles to professional journals. Throughout his career, he has been grateful to work with students, teaching them ethical and creative work habits. As an educator, he has worked with both graduate and undergraduate students, and has found that many of his brightest pupils were women. For example, he was able to convince one female student to write a manuscript that was eventually published in a professional journal.
As an accomplished professional, Dr. Brecher attributes his professional success to the many mentors he has encountered throughout his career and education. He was greatly influenced by his postdoctoral adviser at Purdue, Dr. Arnold Kent Balls, from whom he learned how to work enthusiastically and ethically. He was also mentored by his first boss at Columbia University, Dr. Earnest Boreck, who was very inspirational to him. Lastly, he was greatly influenced by his high school chemistry teacher, who encouraged students to study the nature around them. This is what piqued Dr. Brecher’s interest in minerals and rocks, and led to his lifelong collection of semi-precious stones and rocks.
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