The American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Chemical Education (CHED) has awarded the 2025 Outstanding Service to the Division Award to Professor Emerita Arlene Russell in recognition of her “exceptional dedication and contributions to DivCHED”.
This award is presented annually to a member of the CHED who has contributed exemplary volunteer service to CHED over a sustained period of time. Russell has served in numerous leadership roles in CHED including Chair of the Division in 2011.
Russell was honored with the award at the CHED Social on March 23 during the Spring 2025 ACS meeting in San Diego. In introducing Russell, the past chair, Professor Resa Kelly (San Jose State University), added, “Arlene’s impact extends beyond formal service, with her personal mentorship and encouragement leaving a lasting, positive influence on many. Her exemplary contributions truly embody the Division’s mission and inspire the entire chemical education community.'”
Russell’s teaching, research, and service are interwoven around the advancement of teaching and learning in higher education in general, and in chemical education in particular. She has been directly involved in the chemistry instruction of over 40,000 UCLA undergraduate students and the pedagogical training of over 1,000 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Additionally, she has led the development of innovative interactive instructional media, which are being or have been used in thousands of institutions worldwide.
In addition to teaching in the UCLA general chemistry lab program, Russell serves as the faculty advisor for both the general chemistry major and the science education minor. These two-degree programs emphasize teaching careers. She also serves as the UCLA Faculty Director for the UCOP-funded California Teach program, which encourages STEM majors to participate in service-learning courses that explore secondary school teaching as a career.
Her scholarship of teaching and learning has resulted in over 40 publications in leading chemical education journals, 100 invited presentations, and continuous research funding for 50 years. She served on the UCLA Undergraduate Council of the Academic Senate for seven years.
Among her awards, Russell received the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry 2024 Alumni Legacy Award, the Computerworld Smithsonian Award in Education and Academia, the Chemical Manufacturing Association National Award for Outstanding College Teaching, the National Science Foundation GK-12 Media Award, and the UCLA Brian P. Copenhaver Award for Innovation in Teaching with Technology. She has been a Fellow of the American Chemical Society since 2014.
Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penny@chem.ucla.edu.
