Popular instructor Laurence Lavelle has been elected by UCLA’s Mortar Board Agathai chapter as the 2019 UCLA Mortar Board Honorary Member.
Lavelle was selected from nominated UCLA faculty members to receive the honor in recognition of his “distinguished contributions towards the goals of scholarship, leadership and service over the years teaching at UCLA”. He was honored at the group’s annual banquet held on April 21, 2019, at UCLA’s Kerckhoff Grand Salon, where the group highlighted Lavelle’s dedication to education, assisting all students, and in particular his Undergraduate Peer Learning Assistant Program, his many helpful and detailed student solutions manuals, and the popular online forum and database for students that Lavelle created and maintains, Chemistry Community, which currently has over 8.3 million page views.
At the group’s annual banquet – the newly inducted members (UCLA seniors) and 2019 Honorary Member Dr. Laurence Lavelle (far right).
Lavelle is the first UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry faculty member to be initiated as an Honorary Member of the society – an honor bestowed upon professors, administrative officials, and community leaders for more than two decades.
According to the Society’s website, “Honorary membership is a unique recognition reserved for those individuals who have made a distinguished contribution over a period of years toward the advancement of the goals and purposes of Mortar Board and whose influence has extended beyond the university. The honorary member is considered a regular member and may participate in chapter activities as an active member if he or she chooses.” A list of honorary members can be viewed here.
Since 1939, Mortar Board society has been the premier national honor society at UCLA that recognizes college seniors for their exemplary scholarship, leadership, and service. With over a quarter of a million members having been initiated at 228 chartered chapters nationwide, the Society continues to provide opportunities for continued leadership development, to promote service to colleges and universities, and to encourage lifelong contributions to the global community.
Click here to learn more about Lavelle and his educational innovations.
Penny Jennings, Communications Manager, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penny@chem.ucla.edu.
