Chemical engineering endowed chair earns advising award
March 11, 2014
STARKVILLE, Miss. –An endowed chair in chemical engineering has earned recognition for his advising skills and dedication to students in the Bagley College of Engineering.
Bill Elmore will receive the 2014 Irvin Alty Jefcoat Excellence in Advising Award from Mississippi State University. He holds the Hunter Henry Chair in Chemical Engineering and serves as interim director of the Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering.
This award recognizes individuals who show commitment to and outstanding skills in advising Mississippi State students. One faculty and one staff member are chosen for this award. Both recipients will be nominated for the National Academic Advising Association’s Outstanding Advising Awards.
“I was so ecstatic when I heard the news. It’s an honor to be recognized for what I love to do,” Elmore said. “It’s also a special privilege because it’s named after Alty Jefcoat. His love for and commitment to students created a legacy of advising that I have aspired to match in my own service.”
Jefcoat held the Hunter Henry Chair prior to Elmore.
Elmore joined the Bulldog family in 2005. At MSU he advises each of the more than 300 undergraduate students in chemical engineering. As the Hunter Henry Chair, he also serves as the faculty adviser to the MSU student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
“Hunter Henry’s vision for the chair was to have an individual focus on the undergraduate students all day, every day,” Elmore said. “He also wanted the chair to keep the student chapter of AIChE strong.”
Elmore said the Hunter Henry Chair is one of the big attractions the Swalm School of Chemical Engineering offers.
“Advising is a daily process. With the Hunter Henry Chair focused on advising, students have a resource always ready to answer questions regarding the curriculum and their programs of study,” Elmore said. “I may not have an immediate answer to every question, but I can certainly find the answers.”
Not only does Elmore enjoy being a part of the chemical engineering department, but he is also proud to be part of the university. He is a non-stop recruiter and adviser for Mississippi State and the BCoE.
“I am always recruiting. Recently, I was out at a friend’s horse farm when a father and 8-year-old son rode up. I immediately started working on the son to consider engineering at State,” said Elmore, who has seen three of his four children enroll at Mississippi State.
Elmore earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Arkansas. He is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Society for Engineering Education, the American Chemical Society, and the National Academic Advising Association.
For more information about the Bagley College of Engineering, visit www.bagley.msstate.edu.
By: Emily McConnell