Professor Emeritus Conrad Stanitski will receive the 2013 George Pimentel Award in Chemical Education in April.
The award will be presented by at the American Chemical Society at its national meeting in New Orleans on Tuesday, April 9. The award consists of $5,000 and a certificate.
Sponsored by Cengage Learning and friends and colleagues of George and Jeanne Pimentel, Stanitski will receive the award “for distinguished contributions in advancing chemistry education through inspirational teaching, innovative instructional leadership, and writing and editing influential, relevant, and meaningful high school and college textbooks.”
While at UCA, Stanitski coordinated a major expansion in the Chemistry Department. Under his guidance, the department obtained American Chemical Society certification of its program. As enrollment increased and the research mission of the department expanded, the number of faculty members increased from seven members to 15 under Stanitski’s leadership. He was also instrumental in adding an emphasis in biochemistry to the bachelor’s degree in chemistry. Early in his UCA tenure, Stanitski supervised the move of the department from the Lewis Science Center to its current location in Laney Hall. He was named Professor Emeritus upon his retirement.
In addition to his roles as chemistry professor and administrator, Stanitski has been influential nationally as an author. He has authored or co-authored more than 25 books including chemistry textbooks for science majors, non-science majors, and for allied-health students, two of which were sponsored by the ACS: Chemistry in the Community and Chemistry in Context. He has served administratively as chair of the ACS Division of Chemical Education, Project Kaleidoscope, the Chemical Heritage Foundation and on a number of ACS committees. An inorganic chemist, Stanitski received numerous awards during his teaching career, including the Catalyst Award, a national honor from the Chemical Manufacturers Association for excellence in college chemistry teaching; the Gustav Ohaus-National Science Teachers Association Award for creative innovations in college science teaching; and the Visiting Scientist Award of the Western Connecticut ACS section.
After receiving his doctorate at the University of Connecticut in 1971, Stanitski joined the faculty at Georgia State University. While there he began his long and prolific career as an author. He moved to Randolph Macon in 1971 and later served as an American Council on Education fellow in academic administration and as an executive assistant to the President at Franklin and Marshall. He became provost at Mount Union College in 1988 and chemistry chair at UCA in 1992. Since his retirement from UCA in 2005, he has served as a visiting scholar at Franklin & Marshall.
Stanitski and his wife, Barbara, are currently retired in Lancaster, Pa.
