Texas A&M Chemistry Prof David Bergbreiter Named Among 2017 SEC Faculty Awards

David Bergbreiter, Regents Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M, has been named one of 14 Southeastern Conference (SEC) faculty winners of the 2017 SEC Faculty Achievement Awards, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has announced. Now in their sixth year, these awards honor one individual from each SEC university who has excelled in teaching, research and scholarship.

“Through the SEC Faculty Achievement Awards we have a unique opportunity each year to recognize and encourage the work of outstanding faculty members on our campuses,” said Sankey. “These 14 highly accomplished scholars represent more than 14,000 full-time, tenured professors in our conference, and we are delighted to honor them for decades of service to our students.”

Bergbreiter, an expert in organic chemistry and polymer science and an Eppright Professor since 2002, joined the Texas A&M Department of Chemistry in 1974 after receiving his doctorate same year from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Renowned both for his teaching and research prowess, he is one of six College of Science faculty to earn the lifetime distinction of Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence (2006), Texas A&M’s highest award for classroom achievement. In addition, he has received university-level Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Awards in Teaching (2005) and Research (2008), as well as the Exxon Education Foundation Award, the ARMCO Mentorship Award and the Wells Fargo Honors Faculty Mentor Award (2005).  He was also a 2016 TEDxTAMU Conference presenter and is featured in the Texas A&M Center for Teaching Excellence’s Teaching for Tomorrow series.

For more on Bergbreiter and his teaching, research and service efforts, visit http://www.chem.tamu.edu/faculty/david-bergbreiter/.

Each SEC Faculty Achievement Award winner will receive a $5,000 honorarium from the SEC and will become his or her university’s nominee for the SEC Professor of the Year Award. The SEC Professor of the Year, to be named in April, receives an additional $15,000 honorarium.

To be eligible for the SEC Faculty Achievement Award, the professor must be a teacher or scholar at an SEC university; have achieved the rank of full professor; have a record of extraordinary teaching; and have a record of scholarship that is recognized nationally and/or internationally.

“The SEC is comprised of 14 of the finest universities in the country, and our faculty members are some of the most nationally and internationally decorated individuals in academia,” said Dr. Mark E. Keenum, president of Mississippi State University and president of the Southeastern Conference. “It is a privilege to be able to recognize their accomplishments, and I offer each of them my sincere congratulations.”

The SEC Faculty Achievement Awards and the SEC Professor of the Year Award are both selected by the SEC Provosts, and they are a part of the SECU academic initiative. SECU is the mechanism through which the SEC promotes the collaborative academic endeavors and achievements of its students, faculty and administrators.

Below is a list of the 2017 SEC Faculty Achievement Award recipients:

• University of Alabama, Dr. Arunava Gupta, Distinguished University Research Professor of Chemistry
• University of Arkansas, Brian Gallini, Professor of Law
• Auburn University, Dr. James Barth, Lowder Eminent Scholar in Finance
• University of Florida, Dr. George Christou, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry
• University of Georgia, Dr. Roberto Docampo, Distinguished Research Professor of Cellular Biology
• University of Kentucky, Dr. T. John Balk, William T. Bryan Professor of Materials Engineering
• Louisiana State University, Dr. Susanne Brenner, Nicholson Professor of Mathematics
• University of Mississippi, Dr. Dale Flesher, Professor of Accountancy
• Mississippi State University, Dr. Janice Chambers, Giles Distinguished Professor of Veterinary Medicine
• University of Missouri, Dr. James Birchler, Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences
• University of South Carolina, Dr. David Shields, Carolina Distinguished Professor of English
• University of Tennessee, Dr. Suzanne Lenhart, Chancellor’s Professor of Mathematics
• Texas A&M University, Dr. David Bergbreiter, Regents Professor of Chemistry
• Vanderbilt University, Suzanna Sherry, Herman O. Loewenstein Professor of Law

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Media contact: Keith Randall, News & Information Services, at (979) 845-4644 or keith-randall@tamu.edu or Shana Hutchins, Communications Manager
College of Science, at (979) 862-1237 or shutchins@science.tamu.edu

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