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Aaronson Awarded Harold T. Clark Jr. Endowed Professorship
Biology Professor Shares Love of Research with Students
Written By Sydney Bell '11, PR Intern
Longtime biology professor named second endowed chair
Contact - cleogrande@utica.edu
Utica, NY (12/08/2010) - Lawrence Aaronson, Ph.D., professor of biology at Utica College, has been awarded the prestigious Harold T. Clark Jr. Endowed Professorship.The Harold T. Clark Jr. Professorship was endowed with a generous gift from Harold “Tom” Clark, a longtime UC benefactor, first chairman of the College’s Board of Trustees, and a local entrepreneur. The award is meant to advance teaching and scholarly activity, benefit the intellectual life of the College, and promote students learning in a particular field of study.
Aaronson’s new title is Harold T. Clark Jr. Professor of Microbiology.
A member of the UC community since 1987, Aaronson earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Florida State University in 1979, and then earned his Ph.D. in microbiology from Rutgers University in 1984. Later, he studied as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Human Genetics at Yale School of Medicine.
Perhaps best known on the Utica College campus for sharing his love of research with the students, he was awarded the Virgil Crisafulli Distinguished Teaching Award, the College’s highest honor for teaching, in 1996. In 1997, Aaronson was also selected for the Harold T. Clark Jr. Award for Distinguished Scholarship and Professional Accomplishment. His dedication to students was recognized far beyond Utica College when he was awarded the American Society for Microbiology Carski Foundation Distinguished Teaching Award in 2007. Nominated by one of his students for this national honor, Aaronson was chosen for his teaching and for encouraging his students to subsequent achievement.
Along with his many awards, Aaronson’s accomplishments extend to presenting and publishing numerous times in his field. He currently serves as a biology councilor in the Council on Undergraduate Research, and he leads the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Undergraduate Teaching Fellowship Program.
The endowed chair provides $125,000 over five years to be used for research, scholarships, curricular development, and other educational activities that benefit the college, students and the community.
Aaronson will hold the position for the academic years 2010-2011 to 2014-2015.
Aaronson is only the second person in the history of Utica College to receive this award. The first was Theodore Orlin, the Harold T. Clark Jr. Professor of Human Rights Scholarship and Advocacy, 2005 through 2010.
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