University of Richmond chemistry professor Carol Parish receives State Council of Higher Education Outstanding Faculty Award

University of Richmond chemistry professor Carol Parish has been named an Outstanding Faculty Award recipient by the State Council of Higher Education.

The Outstanding Faculty Awards are the Commonwealth's highest honor for faculty at Virginia's public and private colleges and universities. These awards recognize superior accomplishments in teaching, research and public service.

Parish is a nationally recognized leader in computational and theoretical chemistry, as well as in training the next generation of scientists. She is committed to increasing the number of underrepresented students in science. Her students have won numerous nationally-recognized scholarships, including ten Goldwater scholarships, six American Chemical Society scholarships, a Fulbright fellowship, as well as Gates and Rhodes Scholarships. She has coauthored 42 research publications with 63 undergraduate coauthors. She has mentored more than 95 undergraduates in externally funded research focusing on developing an understanding of important processes in chemistry, biology and physics.

“It’s wonderful to be recognized for the most exciting and rewarding part of my job, which is mentoring the next generation of scientists,” said Parish. “When my students succeed, I succeed, and this honor reflects that.”

“Carol embodies UR’s commitment to faculty mentoring of students and undergraduate research,” said Patrice Rankine, dean of the School of Arts & Sciences. “This award recognizes Carol’s efforts to help our ambitious students achieve their academic goals.”

This award is the latest recognition of Parish’s contributions to chemistry and mentorship. In 2017, Parish received the outstanding mentoring award from American Chemical Society. She also 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 Program Coordinator of UR’s Integrated and Inclusive Science program, as well as the Beckman Foundation program, which provides scholarships for faculty-mentored student research.

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