FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Ansel and Virginia Condray of Dallas have pledged $240,000 to the University of Arkansas to enhance the Ansel and Virginia Condray Endowed Professorship in Chemical Engineering, which was originally created during the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century, and provide support to the college through the Dean’s Advisory Council fund. The gift to the professorship will allow the College of Engineering to support a highly qualified faculty member in the Ralph E. Martin department of chemical engineering by providing the resources needed to continue and further the scholar’s contributions to teaching, research and public service.

“Support of our faculty is paramount in our quest to become a top public research university,” said John English, dean of the College of Engineering. “Professorships like this allow us to attract and retain quality talent who are not only accomplished researchers but excellent teachers as well. Ansel and Virginia want to be sure our chemical engineering program stays at the forefront of engineering education, and this enhanced endowed position will help us do just that. We are grateful for their gift, because it will allow us to remain competitive and continue to offer a quality education to our students.”

Ansel Condray, who grew up in Little Rock, came to the University of Arkansas and majored in chemical engineering after enjoying chemistry in high school.

“The biggest influence, in addition to my interest in chemistry,” he said, “was that it provided an opportunity to go many different directions.”

After receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1964, Condray began work as an engineer, and his subsequent career touched on technology supervision, operations management and general management before he retired as chairman and production director of ExxonMobil International Ltd. in 2002. The professorship and Dean’s Advisory Council fund supported by the Condrays include funds from ExxonMobil’s matching gift program.

Condray reconnected with the university in 1990 and later became involved on the College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council.

“Being engaged allowed me to reflect on a lot of things,” he said. “It cemented the idea that the background and foundation I had been given enabled me to compete with people at big name schools. I knew that giving back would allow the university to continue to do that.”

Since then, Condray was named an Arkansas Alumni Association distinguished alumnus in 1997 and was inducted into the College of Engineering Hall of Fame in 1998. He was a member of the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century Steering Committee and now serves on the Campaign Arkansas Steering Committee. His wife, Virginia, is also a graduate of the university and holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from the College of Education and Health Professions. Because of their philanthropy, they are recognized in the University of Arkansas Towers of Old Main and the Heritage Society.

Christa Hestekin, associate professor of engineering, was selected to hold the Ansel and Virginia Condray Endowed Professorship in Chemical Engineering from Jan. 1, 2014 to July 1, 2015. Her research interests are in the separation of biomolecules, such as DNA and proteins, using microchannel electrophoresis for applications in medicine and the environmental sciences. Her work can be applied to a range of fields, including the detection of amyloid proteins for Alzheimer’s disease and improved methods for analyzing algae for biofuel production. She plans to use the funding from her professorship to increase research production and expand into new research areas.