Professor, Former dean, Establishes Academic Excellence Fund

Former Michigan Pharmacy Dean and current Tom D. Rowe Collegiate Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry George L. Kenyon, PhD, has been associated with some of America’s premier academic institutions over the last 50-plus years: the University of Michigan, Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco, and Bucknell University.

His experiences as a student, faculty member, and administrator have shaped his convictions about the importance of financial support for students.

George L. Kenyon outside the NSF Building in Arlington, Va. where, in January 2007, he started a two-year, paid appointment as a program officer in the organic and macromolecular sciences section, chemistry division. One of his responsibilities is to review research funding proposals from around the country. He and six other reviewers then decide which proposals will receive NSF support in the molecular and macromolecular sciences area. In his absence, Kenyon’s U-M College of Pharmacy lab continues to operate under the direction of Research Scientist Michael McLeish.

“Higher education has been and remains the gateway to greater opportunity and a better life: it was for me, and I know it’s been the same for countless Michigan Pharmacy alumni,” Kenyon says. “That’s why I believe we have a responsibility to make sure that no qualified student is ever denied the advantage of a Michigan Pharmacy education simply because he or she lacked the financial means.

“The College is known around the world for the achievements of its alumni,” Kenyon adds. “These achievements are proof that when you recruit outstanding students, you get outstanding results.”

Already a generous supporter of the College, Kenyon extended his commitment in July 2006, when he donated $52,000 in appreciated stock to establish the George L. Kenyon Fund for Academic Excellence at the College.

The scholarship fund is intended to attract top graduate and professional students, as indicated by the selection criteria.

To qualify for a Kenyon Scholarship, a student must carry a 3.8 grade point average or better in his or her undergraduate work. First priority is given to graduate students in medicinal chemistry. Second priority is given to graduate students in pharmaceutical sciences. Third priority is given to PharmD students.

“Scholarship funds give us an edge in recruiting the best students, and scholarship funds that set the bar high allow us to recruit the best of the best,” explains Kenyon. “As with any endowment gift, the larger the fund grows, the more you can achieve with it. My hope is that others will join me in rewarding exemplary academic performance.”

In fact, others already have, including Kenyon’s former graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.

Sitting in the financial hot seat as U-M Pharmacy dean from 1998 to 1994, Kenyon became keenly aware of the diminishing state support of higher education. In 1972, the state covered about 75 percent of the cost of educating its public university students. Today, the state contributes less than one-half of the cost of education.

That gap is growing as the state grapples with increasing economic hardship and looming budget deficits.

“It’s a constant struggle to keep a Michigan Pharmacy education affordable without compromising the quality that has become our hallmark,” Kenyon says.