by Taylor Kilgore
University of West Georgia Professor Emerita of Chemistry Dr. Lucille Garmon believed steadfastly that no student should be kept from completing his or her education due to financial strain. It was from that belief that she established the Chemistry Workshop Leader Scholarship in 2012 to support UWG students pursuing an undergraduate degree with a major in chemistry.
Nick Blair, left, and Dr. Farooq Khan, right
Nick Blair is the first scholarship recipient. The scholarship was awarded recently at the Annual Chemistry Department Awards ceremony.
“Receiving the scholarship in honor of Dr. Garmon was a surprise, and I can't express how grateful and honored I am to have received it,” said Nick. “She was an amazing person and was a major reason I joined the workshop program in the chemistry department. Without Dr. Garmon, I wouldn't have met many of my best friends and colleagues, and with this award, I will be able to continue and finish my education.”
Dr. Garmon played an immense role in the teaching and encouragement of students. Since the fall of 1998, students have been serving as workshop leaders to further their own and other students’ development in the knowledge and understanding of chemical principles.
“Dr. Lucille (Lucy) Garmon was one of the early practitioners of peer-led team learning or workshops in the nation and the pioneer who implemented workshops in the Department of Chemistry at UWG,” said Dr. Sharmistha Basu-Dutt, chemistry department chair and professor. “Her guidance and leadership resulted in recruiting, training, and mentoring workshop leaders who are key to the sustained success of the program since 1999, impacting essentially all science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors on campus. The scholarship recognizes exceptional, dedicated, and hardworking chemistry workshop leaders who help preserve Dr. Garmon's legacy.”
The scholarship award is given for $1000.00. The recipient of the award must have served two or more semesters as a workshop leader in the Department of Chemistry.
Dr. Garmon led the chemistry department as chair from 1982 until 1995, during this time making UWG highly acclaimed for the Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) and the Chemistry Workshop Leader Program, which are now required for all STEM majors at UWG.
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