Chemistry Prof Honored With Professor Of The Year Award

April 19, 2006
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Baylor Provost Randall O'Brien with Dr. Kevin Pinney, the recipient of the Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year Award.

by Frank Raczkiewicz

Baylor University honored Dr. Kevin Pinney, a chemistry professor at Baylor since 1993, with the Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year Award during the annual Honors Convocation April 19 in the Barfield Drawing Room of the Bill Daniel Student Center.

"It's really overwhelming and very humbling," Pinney said as he accepted the award.

One of Baylor's top researchers, Pinney is co-founder of Baylor's Center for Drug Discovery (CDD), an interdisciplinary research collaboration that supports the development of compounds. Pinney and his research team are credited with creating several new tumor-starving compounds, signifying a major step forward in the quest for a cancer-eradicating agent.

"What humbles me the most about this award is that the accomplishments which are often attributed to me and my research group are really accomplishments that need to be equally shared by my colleagues here at Baylor," Pinney said. "I would like to thank all of my friends, colleagues and students who made this possible. They inspired me to work harder."

The award is presented each year to a faculty member who makes a significant contribution to the learning environment at Baylor. They must exemplify the highest standards in teaching, research and service. As a recipient, Pinney will receive $20,000 and will present a public lecture on an academic topic of his choosing during the fall semester.

A 1918 Baylor biology graduate, Dr. Cornelia Marschall Smith earned a master's degree from the University of Chicago and her doctorate from Johns Hopkins. She was a Baylor professor of biology from 1940-67, chair of the biology department from 1943-67, and director of Strecker Museum from 1943-67. Smith retired in 1967, but maintained an office in Armstrong Browning Library to assist charitable causes. In 1980, Baylor honored Smith with an endowed chair known as the Cornelia Marschall Smith Professorship in Biology. She passed away Aug. 27, 1997, at the age of 101.