University of Richmond chemistry professor Carol Parish receives outstanding mentoring award from American Chemical Society
Editor's Note: The image in this release was updated in March 2022.
The American Chemical Society has named University of Richmond chemistry professor Carol Parish a recipient of the Zaida C. Morales-Martinez Prize for Outstanding Mentoring. The award from the world’s largest scientific society recognizes individuals who have done an exemplary job in mentoring students in the ACS Scholars Program.
Parish, whose area of expertise is computational and theoretical physical chemistry, joined UR’s faculty in 2005. In the past 15 years she has coauthored 31 research publications with 63 undergraduate coauthors. She has mentored more than 80 undergraduates in research focusing on developing an understanding of important processes in chemistry, biology and physics. Her students have won numerous nationally-recognized scholarships, including ten Goldwater scholarships, five ACS scholarships, a Fulbright fellowship and a Rhodes Scholar award.
“Mentoring the next generation of scientists is the most exciting and rewarding part of my job,” said Parish. “I feel success when my students succeed, and this award truly reflects the many talented young people I’ve had the honor of working with.”
“Carol is a wonderful example of our commitment to faculty mentorship and undergraduate research,” said Patrice Rankine, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. “She is deservedly being recognized for helping ambitious students achieve their goals academically and beyond.”
This award is the latest recognition of Parish’s contributions to chemistry and mentorship. She received a 2016 Goldwater Scholars Faculty Mentor Award and was named a 2015 ACS fellow. She received UR’s Outstanding Mentor Award in 2008 and the Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award in 2005. Parish serves as director of UR’s Integrated and Inclusive Science program, as well as the Beckman Foundation program, which provides scholarships for faculty-mentored student research.
Parish will accept her award during the ACS’s Committee of Minority Affairs luncheon in August.
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