Laura Pence Named Winner of Oscar and Shoshana Trachtenberg Award for Sustained Service to the University
Laura Pence
Professor of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences
Oscar and Shoshana Trachtenberg Award
This recognition is given annually to a faculty member in honor of sustained, consummate service to the University.
The contributions of Laura Pence go well beyond the chemistry classrooms where she has proven herself as a dedicated, personable, and knowledgeable educator.
The longtime professor of chemistry has led many important University initiatives, serving as co-chair of the steering committee charged with overseeing the reaccreditation process through the New England Commission for Higher Education; serving on the College of Arts and Sciences Honors Committee and its Council on Promotion and Tenure; and working with the strategic planning and search committees for the Department of Biology and the Department of Philosophy.
For the accreditation project alone, she expertly coordinated the work of more than 100 people on nine committees to reach the targeted goal.
Pence, who previously chaired the Department of Chemistry, extends her leadership skills to such tasks as logistics and security to assure safe and effective study and research spaces for all students. She helped design and organize the chemistry space during construction of the Biology-Chemistry Building, established a functional buddy system for research students, and served on the President’s Commission on Sustainability.
Several years ago, Pence played a vital role in the successful development of the University’s environmental studies minor, and more recently has been working on creating new bachelor’s programs in environmental studies and environmental science.
Pence counts among her most significant areas of interest inorganic chemistry, environmental chemistry, and science policy. She spent a year in Washington, D.C., as a Congressional Science Policy Fellow, which fostered her awareness of the intersection between government and science, an important topic she shares with her students. Always an inquisitive and responsible scientist-educator, she remains active in the American Chemical Society, for which she chaired the Committee on Environmental Improvement, sat on its Board of Directors, and currently serves on its Education Committee.
Regarded as an exceptional mentor, Pence takes all the time necessary to guide her students through all phases of their University of Hartford experience.