Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Ngozi Ugochukwu Receives 2007 William R. Jones Outstanding Mentor Award

Ngozi Ugochukwu, who is an associate professor of chemistry in the Florida A&M University (FAMU) College of Arts & Sciences and the 2006-2007 Advanced Teacher of the Year Awardee, is the recipient of the 2007 William R. Jones Outstanding Mentor Award for her “outstanding contributions to the McKnight Doctoral Fellowship Program.”

“I am highly honored to have this award which represents the collaborative efforts of my graduate and undergraduate students and I working mutually on our research projects on diabetes, obesity and congestive heart failure,” said Ugochukwu. “Moreover, I am elated by the recognition that this brings to the Department of Chemistry, College of Arts & Sciences and Florida A&M University. I thank Florida A&M University for the opportunity to promote my discipline through teaching, research and public service.”

The William R. Jones Awards Committee awarded Ugochukwu the Outstanding Mentor Award after reviewing one of her student’s nomination application.

“Dr. U., as we all affectionately call her, can be characterized by three little words: passion, commitment and excellence,” said Cynthia L. Figgers, who has known Ugochukwu for five years. “Ugochukwu illustrates a superior quality of excellence. She is a very caring, diligent, thorough and demanding professor who pushes her students to work hard to reach their highest potential. She not only pushes them to work hard, she leads by example.”

Established in 1984, the Florida Education Fund's McKnight Doctoral Fellowship Program has increased the number of African Americans who have been awarded the Ph.D. in historically underrepresented, crucial disciplines and fields of study where African Americans have not historically enrolled and completed degree programs.

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