FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Dr. Don Bobbitt has been appointed associate dean for research of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas.

Bobbitt has served as the department chair of chemistry and biochemistry on campus since 1998 as well as professor of chemistry since 1993. He started his career at the U of A in 1985 as an assistant professor of chemistry. William Durham, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, will serve as interim department chair of chemistry.

"Fulbright College is most fortunate to have the services of professor Don Bobbitt as associate dean for research," said Dr. Randall Woods, dean of Fulbright College. "Don is a distinguished research chemist in his own right, an award-winning teacher, and an experienced administrator."

Bobbitt said he is excited and privileged in being chosen as the person to continue the University’s rich research tradition of the Fulbright College.

"I am extremely honored to be chosen to serve the faculty and students of Fulbright College as associate dean," he said. "This is an exciting time to be associated with the Fulbright College. We have before us a number of significant opportunities which will help define this college’s legacy."

As associate dean, Bobbitt plans to spearhead the college’s drive to double its funded research during the next five years.

"The college’s strength derives from its faculty, and I look forward to working closely with them," Bobbitt said. "This in turn will enhance research productivity as we move to meet Chancellor White’s goals for the University in terms of its research and educational mission."

With his years of experience in teaching and research, Bobbitt has been on the receiving end of many honors and awards for his expertise in both of those arenas.

In addition to being named 1994 National Speaker for the Society of Applied Spectroscopy, he was elected to the University of Arkansas Teaching Academy in 1991, received the 1991 Alumni Association Award in Teaching and won the Fulbright College Master Teacher Award in 1991. He also received the Camile and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Teacher-Scholar Fellowship from 1988-93.

Bobbitt has written and assisted in writing more than 50 publications and has been an invited speaker at more than 100 lectures and presentations throughout his career. He has served as a consultant for Shell Chemical Company and Sanyo Chemical Company, and he is currently a consultant for PDR-Chiral Inc., a Channel Partner of Hewlett Packard.

He has been involved with funded support, including educational and equipment funding for research of over $8 million from national corporations and organizations - including the R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Bobbitt is also currently the associate editor for the Microchemical Journal.

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