volume1 | F R E E E N E R G Y & C A T A L Y S T

Over the past few years, thechemistry department has had theopportunity to assess thedepartment’s productivity andrecognize three of its outstandingfaculty responsible for thedepartment’s growth anddevelopment. During this time,several members of the chemistryalumni concluded that keyindividuals have provided thefoundation for making thebaccalaureate chemistry programone of the more productive coursesof study in the nation. Thisnewsletter is one of several avenueswe have chosen to give visibility tothis incomparable level ofprogrammatic achievement.We began this process four yearsago by honoring the late Dr. Jack H.Jefferson for his outstandingcommitment to analytical chemistryand to chemistry teaching ingeneral. His work contributed to theintellectual development of

graduates with sharp analytical andproblem-solving skills. In 2014 the chemistry facultyinitiated the Vandon E. White Awardwhich recognizes the highest rankinggraduating senior in chemistry. Thisaward was so named because Dr.White was the primary architect indeveloping the chemistrydepartment we have enjoyed in thepast 50 years. In one year in the1960's there were sixteen PhD's onSouthern University’s chemistryfaculty. Dr. White is presently amajor financial contributor to theaward named in his honor. In the fall of 2015 the chemistryalumni steering committee wasappointed by department Chair Dr.Edwin Walker and given the chargeof continuing to honor programbuilders by authorizing theestablishment of the annual WilburB. Clarke Symposium in Chemistry.

The inaugural activity was quitesuccessful and served as a catalystfor beginning several otherinitiatives that would bring visibilityto chemistry and to our capabilityfor planning and attracting funds forprogram growth and development. We ask for your support as wecontinue to make chemistry a greatacademic choice at SouthernUniversity. This issue of the newsletterprovides a very brief overview ofactivities of some of our graduates.Other alumni will be featured ingreater detail at the website that isnow under construction. The Alumni Team is grateful tothe Southern University Foundationfor its partial support of this pilotactivity.

William E. Moore, PhDProject director andSteering Committee Chair

From theEditor

DEPARTMENT OFA B O U T T H E

For more than five decades, the chemistry department hassuccessfully implemented a diverse, student-centered academicprogram. During the course of the department's evolution,methods, personnel, as well as resources have changed, but thetheme of academic excellence has persisted. In 1963, three of four SUBR chemistry graduates went on toearn Ph. D. degrees. Since then, countless chemistry majors haveleft the department to become physicians, dentists, industrialleaders, and research scientists. In addition, the department hasproduced nationally acclaimed academic scientists who arecurrently recognized as being at the top of their field by thelarger chemistry community. The use of the student-centered approach places SouthernUniversity at Baton Rouge (SUBR) in a small group of institutionsthat believe personal mentoring and undergraduate research areindispensable components of a science major's academicexperience. Southern University was doing this long before theterms became popular in higher education lexicon. Over the past five decades, the philosophical centerpiece ofthe chemistry department has been student focused. The facultyhas demonstrated that research productivity, scholarship, andteaching excellence can coexist in an environment that givespriority to student development. Today's department is at thecutting edge of providing physical resources that will make ourmajors competitive and instructional technology that willproduce the very best learning opportunities for students.The chemistry department in 2016 continues to be aninspirational unit at the University. Some of its recent graduateshave earned doctorates at California Institute of Technology,Purdue University, University of California -Davis, LouisianaState University, Illinois-Chicago, University of Missouri,Georgetown, Tulane Medical School, and Baylor School ofMedicine. Some of the emerging scholars are now studying atOhio State, Wisconsin-Madison, and several other medicalschools. If one were to look at the SUBR chemistry department onemonth before the Martin Luther King "Dream" speech and onemonth after the end of President Obama’s second term, onewould have witnessed a time span of approximately 53 years ofunprecedented change. During this change, the chemistrydepartment has maintained a consistent theme of quality,productivity and positive student development. Come join us inour continuing quest for excellence.

N O M A D I C | 2 4

at Southern CHEMISTRY

Historical andPhilosophicalOverview of

Chemistry atSouthern

University andA&M College

Lorene Brooke

Ashley Wallace Brienne Johnson

Jessica Miller

Rashanique Quarels Russell Ledet

FirstOrder

KineticsRecent

ChemistryGraduates on

The Move

Ashley Wallace is a 2012 Chemistry graduate ofSouthern University. She is a PhD candidate inchemistry at Ohio State University.

Brienne Johnson is an SU chemistry graduate of 2012.She now holds a PhD degree in Material Science fromNorth Carolina State University.

Lorene Brooke is a 2008 chemistry graduate. Shereceived an MD degree from Ross University School ofMedicine in 2016. Her Residency assignment is atBaton Rouge General Hospital.

Jessica Miller was notified in mid-March of herresidency assignment in Family Medicine at LSUOchsner. Dr.Miller is a 2008 Chemistry graduate whoreceived the MD degree from Meharry MedicalSchool.

Russell Ledet is a PhD candidate in MolecularOncology in the New York University. Russell wasrecently awarded a prestigious competitive fellowshipfor his outstanding work in peer mentoring

Rashanique Quarels is a PhD candidate in OrganicChemistry at Louisiana State University. She is a 2012Southern University Chemistry graduate.

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