Friends of the Sciences Volunteers Honored with Distinctive Service to Emory & Henry Award
This award is given to an individual who has provided extraordinary participation and leadership in any number of E&H activities. The award is named for Fred Selfe, E&H class of 1969, who served the Emory & Henry College Athletic Department with exceptional dedication and valor until his death in 2003.
In 1993, a little group of E&H friends had a great idea.
All graduates from the E&H science division, these alumni thought to use their professional accomplishments for the benefit of E&H students. They considered the fact that students completing their degrees in any field benefitted mightily from a real-world experience. This was perhaps especially true for students planning to enter a field in the realm of science.
They realized that because Emory & Henry is a smaller institution, and not located near a metropolitan center, that identifying placement locations could prove to be a challenge. The great idea they had was both simple and transformative: alumni who were already established as professionals could offer important connections for summer research fellowship opportunities for current students.
This is how Emory & Henry Friends of the Sciences (FOTS) became an established program and tradition.
For more than 25 years, alumni who are physicians, medical specialists, researchers, computer scientists, and more have offered great connections on behalf of current students. The majority of the placements have not been directly with E&H alumni who could provide such experiences; but rather, these opportunities have been arranged via alumni connections and networks, so the scope of research programs accessed for students has been much broader than the individual research programs of alumni who happen to have academic research careers. Massachusetts General Hospital (a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School), Vanderbilt Medical Center, St. Jude – these are just a few of the locations made possible due to FOTS summer fellowships.
At the conclusion of a summer fellowship, participating students make a presentation to FOTS volunteers to highlight the work they’ve done. These presentations at Homecoming have a twofold purpose: communicate the experience and enthusiasm of the student awardees to FOTS and other science alumni, and give the students experience in publicly presenting their research projects to an audience with diverse backgrounds (a definite career skill).
The idea, of course, is for those same student beneficiaries to provide similar great opportunities once they become alumni. Even though next generation leadership is beginning to emerge in the organization, there will never not be gratitude for that initial group of good friends who forged Friends of the Sciences as a powerful extension of Emory & Henry academic preparation.
Working with E&H faculty members Dr. George Treadwell and Dr. Ambrose Leong, founding FOTS members were: Dr. Ann Sluder, Dr. Wally Smalley, Dr. Glenn Birkitt, Dr. Mark Alley, Dr. Karen Miller.
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