Karl Sienerth, assistant professor of chemistry, has been selected as the first recipient of the Japheth E. Rawls Professorship at Elon University. The professorship encourages collaborative work between faculty and students who are involved in scientific research. Sienerth will receive an annual salary supplement, supporting funds for travel and research materials, and grant funds to provide opportunities for student travel and research. Sienerth will hold the rotating professorship for a three-year term.
The Rawls Professorship was created as a result of a recent gift by the estate of Dr. Japheth E. Rawls, Jr., MD ‘35 and Virginia Riddick Rawls of Suffolk, Va. The $735,000 endowment celebrates a century-long Rawls family legacy at Elon, dating back to 1890 when Japheth E. Rawls Sr. enrolled as one of the first students at Elon College. Eight Rawls siblings enrolled at Elon and in later years, many of their children and grandchildren became Elon graduates.
Sienerth joined the Elon faculty in 1998. A member of the Council on Undergraduate Research, he earned a doctorate from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a bachelor’s degree from Pfeiffer University.
-30-