Richmond’s best secret is that students who come to Richmond get more than a world-class education. They also get world-class mentors.

This week, the world’s largest scientific society recognized chemistry professor Carol Parish for her exemplary job in mentoring students in the American Chemical Society Scholars Program. The program supports underrepresented minority students who want to do chemistry or enter chemistry-related fields, and the ACS honored Parish with their ACS’s Zaida C. Morales-Martinez Prize for Outstanding Mentoring.

“Mentoring the next generation of scientists is the most exciting and rewarding part of my job,” Parish said. “I feel success when my students succeed, and this award truly reflects the many talented young people I’ve had the honor of working with.”

Parish has mentored more than 80 undergraduate students in research focusing on developing an understanding of important processes in chemistry, biology, and physics. Her students include 10 Goldwater scholarship winners, a Fulbright recipient, and a Rhodes Scholar.

“Carol is a wonderful example of our commitment to faculty mentorship and undergraduate research,” said Patrice Rankine, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. “She is deservedly being recognized for helping ambitious students achieve their goals academically and beyond.”