Artesia native Nathan Worley presents at American Chemical Society Meeting

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Nathan Worley

ABILENE, TX (11/21/2011)(readMedia)-- Nathan Worley, a senior biochemistry major from Artesia, NM, presented a poster at the 67th Southwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Austin on Nov.10th. The poster was titled "Chromium Polypyridyl Complexes Containing a Ligand with an Acidic Group" and describes his research work conducted over the past two summers with Dr. Edward Donnay. Dr. Donnay and Dr. Pam Velkamp, along with Worley and Artesia, NM, native Amanda Ginzling, attended the meeting.

Dr. Veltkamp and Dr. Donnay attended symposia on chemical education and viewed a wide variety of posters. They spoke to many colleagues at other schools who struggle with low success rates in their General Chemistry courses to see what approaches they are trying in their classrooms to raise those success rates. Some of the information obtained will be used to improve the quality of instruction at McMurry University. They also talked with vendors for the latest scientific equipment and publishers of popular textbooks and homework systems.

Dr. Donnay made contacts with regional research groups that do related work to his research which may spur some type of collaboration in the future. The group attended a special talk given by the chemistry advisor to the TV show "Breaking Bad" and a series of demonstrations by a movie special effects coordinator. The link to the meeting is www.swrm2011.org.

Offering a diverse academic curriculum to more than 1,400 students, McMurry University is a small Christian liberal arts school in Abilene. Students choose from 41 majors; education and business are popular as are the school's pre-professional programs in medicine, dentistry, law, and physical therapy. The three-week May Term gives students an opportunity to explore a subject outside their major. Through the Servant Leadership Program, students learn about ethics and develop leadership qualities. McMurry's signature Texas Semester takes students through Texas history and culture with hands-on experiences like visits from leading authorities that take place both in the classroom and at historical sites across the state. Internships with businesses in Abilene present undergraduates with the opportunity to acquire additional knowledge of the workplace in nonprofit and corporate settings.

Freshmen and sophomores live on campus in renovated residence halls. And when students aren't enjoying one of the picturesque campus spots, they're catching a film retrospective or the latest blockbuster at Abilene's historic Paramount Theatre. Or they might be seen taking part in the city's monthly ArtWalk or going on an excursion to one of the nearby area lakes.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) have approved McMurry University to grant master's degrees. Beginning in the fall of 2012, students may enroll in a Master of Nursing program through the Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing. It is anticipated that a second master's program in Education in Curriculum and Instruction with an English as a Second Language Endorsement (ESL) will be launched in the fall of 2013 through the School of Education.

This past summer, the NCAA officially announced that McMurry University has been accepted into a NCAA Division II candidacy period, bringing back scholarship athletics to the institution for the first time since the 1976–77 school year.

POINTS OF DISTINCTION

• A Top 100 National Baccalaureate College, according to Washington Monthly magazine

• Named a Military Friendly School by G.I. Jobs magazine

• Recognized by U.S. News & World Report for quality and value

• Named a "Great College to Work For" by the Chronicle of Higher Education

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