“With its dedication to the field of chemistry, a local organization has generously established the Panhandle Plains Local Section of the American Chemical Society Scholarship for chemistry majors at West Texas A&M University.
The America Chemical Society (ACS) is the foremost professional organization in the field of chemistry. The local chapter, the Panhandle Plains Local Section, is based in Amarillo and is comprised of approximately 70 members representing chemistry academics and professionals. The group’s gift of $15,000 was matched dollar for dollar by the 2017 Paul Engler and the Paul F. and Virginia J. Engler Foundation gift to WTAMU. The Engler Foundation encourages others to invest in the University by offering matching funds to donors establishing new scholarships, professorships and program innovation endowments.
“I cannot help but to be proud to serve as the local ACS section chair this year. Our executive committee and membership have done so many great things in 2018 to promote the field of chemistry, and the establishment of this scholarship is precisely the kind of thing that we are here to do,” Dr. Jason Yarbrough, assistant professor of chemistry, said. “As a 20-year member of the American Chemical Society, I can say that helping young scientists get their start is at the core of our mission. It was not surprising that as soon as the idea of a scholarship was introduced for discussion, everyone involved was on board. We were very grateful to have a partner in this effort; Dr. Lal Almas, interim dean of the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, graciously matched our gift 1-to-1. This is one of the many ways the college continues to demonstrate its commitment to the promotion of science at WT and in the Panhandle. Hopefully we will have many more such collaborations between the ACS and WT in the future.”
At least one $1,500 scholarship will be awarded annually to a full-time chemistry major beginning in 2020. The recipient or recipients, selected by members of the ACS Panhandle Local Section, must maintain a GPA of at least 3.25 and be a member of the ACS at the time of scholarship application.
Executive members of the Panhandle Plains Local Section who presented the scholarship funds to WTAMU included Dr. Jason Yarbrough, chair; Dr. Greg McGovern, chair-elect; Matt Chisum, outgoing chair; Wayne Hardin, treasurer; Dr. Nick Flynn, counselor; and Dr. Cathy Clewett, alternate counselor.”
-West Texas A&M University
