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Southeastern students earn honorable mention award

Press Release Date: 12-1-2010

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s student chapter of the American Chemical Society (ACS) earned an Honorable Mention Award for its activities during the 2009-10 academic year.

This is the second year in a row for the Southeastern chapter to earn this distinction. The award-winning chapters will also be honored at the ACS National Meeting and Exposition in Anaheim, Calif., on March 27, 2011.

More than 360 reports were submitted and The Society Committee on Education presented 36 outstanding, 69 commendable and 112 honorable mention awards. Lists of award-winning chapters will be published in Chemical & Engineering News and in inChemistry, the student member magazine.

Student officers accepting the award for Southeastern will be chapter president Rebekah Ritchie and vice president Nick Wade. Chapter mentors are Dr. Gordon Eggleton and Dr. Nancy Paiva.

The Southeastern ACS chapter was founded in 1967 in what is now the Chemistry, Computer and Physical Sciences Department. It is one of the few active chapters of the many eligible departments in Oklahoma.

The chapter is constantly involved with chemistry students and the community, trying to share the knowledge and joy of chemistry, as well as supporting community projects.

For example, the Southeastern chapter collected and contributed more than 70 pounds of canned and dried food to the recent drive for local food banks.

Chapter officers and advisors arrange for professionals to give presentations to Southeastern students, and take students to attend local and national chemistry meetings. Students have also promoted National Chemistry Week, conducting demonstrations at elementary schools.

Southeastern has submitted reports three times in the last five years and each time earned the Honorable Mention Award. The chapter has been awarded a $500 Innovative Activities Grant from the national ACS office to implement a program entitled "Helping Rural Students Prepare for College Science Majors."