Chem Club named ACS outstanding chapter

Western Washington University’s student chapter of the American Chemical Society is winner of the society's Outstanding Chapter Award.

Of the 1,000-plus student chapters of the ACS, fewer than 50 were recognized with this award. This is the second consecutive year the chapter has received an outstanding award, and it marks the 10th straight year that the Chem Club has been recognized for its efforts with an award from the ACS. In addition to the Outstanding Chapter Award, the Chem Club received an ACS Green Chemistry Award from the national ACS organization.

Chemistry professors Steven Emory and Betsy Raymond, faculty co-advisers for the Chem Club, said the award is based on such criteria as community service, professional development events, research and involvement with ACS regional and national meetings. The Chem Club regularly performs demonstration programs and hands-on activities at several local schools, including science show kick-offs and student mentoring programs.

“The chapter has tried to balance social activities, like the annual picnic and bowl-off, with community service activities, such as the science show kick-offs and the annual canned food drive,” Emory said. “By building on and continually refining activities each year, students have built a program that impacts students at Western and the broader community. The students are ambassadors of science and chemistry.”

Nicole Koeppen and Morgan Schurr were co-presidents of the 2011-12 Chem Club. The Outstanding Chapter Award stems from the club’s submission of the student chapter annual activity report, which Morgan and Nicole were responsible for preparing. Morgan and Nicole return to Western as seniors this year and they both look forward to graduating and continuing their education in either medical or graduate school.

“This award is a testament to the quality of students we have the pleasure to work with at Western. As the chapter’s faculty co-advisor, I am thankful that I get to be involved with such a wonderfully dedicated, fun, and creative group of students,” Raymond said.

The award-winning chapters will be recognized in the November/December issue of inChemistry magazine and will be formally acknowledged at the ACS Student Chapter Award Ceremony during the 245th ACS National Meeting in New Orleans this spring. 

For additional information and photos, please visit the WWU Department of Chemistry Facebook page.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact Elizabeth Raymond (elizabeth.raymond@wwu.edu) or Steven Emory (steven.emory@wwu.edu), the 2012-13 Chem Club co-advisers.

Western Washington University’s student chapter of the American Chemical Society is winner of the society's Outstanding Chapter Award. Photo by Maddy Mixter | Communications and Marketing intern