University of Richmond chemistry professor Kelling Donald named 2016 Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar

September 1, 2016

Kelling Donald

University of Richmond chemistry professor Kelling Donald has been named a Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation of New York. Donald was one of seven recipients nationwide.

The designation, which comes with a $60,000 award to be spent over a five-year period, supports the research and teaching careers of talented faculty in the chemical sciences at undergraduate institutions.

Donald’s research project involves computational investigations into the nature of chemical bonding, structure prediction, weak interactions in molecules and clusters and other chemical phenomena.

This award will provide summer support for Donald and one research undergraduate.

“Kelling is a dedicated and passionate teacher and a productive and consummate scholar,” said chemistry department chair Michelle Hamm, who nominated Donald for the award. “He thinks deeply and broadly about how to inspire student interest and improve student learning.”

“I am grateful for this acknowledgement of my work and the quality of the undergraduate program in chemistry at the University of Richmond,” Donald said. “We have a strong tradition as a student-focused department, in teaching and scholarship, and my success is an echo of that commitment.”

Donald has taught at UR since 2007. He received his bachelor’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of the West Indies and conducted post-doctoral research at Cornell University as well as in Germany. He briefly taught in Qatar. The University of Richmond named him a Distinguished Educator and an Outstanding Research Mentor in 2014.

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