More research opportunities, a new deanship and two new science faculty positions are being created at Trinity University with a record $26.5 million gift by the Semmes Foundation.
In honor of the donation, the university announced the newly named D. R. Semmes School of Science.
The gift will endow the dean of science position and two science faculty positions, provide dedicated funding for undergraduate research opportunities and support faculty and professional development, according to a press release shared Wednesday.
“This investment by the Semmes Foundation accelerates our goal to deliver the best undergraduate science education in the U.S.,” Trinity President Vanessa B. Beasley said in a statement. “Trinity and the Semmes Foundation have long been partners in opportunities for undergraduate science education, and this historic investment will help us advance our mission to deliver world-class teaching and increase students’ access to research opportunities in STEM.”
Housed within the college, according to the release, are the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth and Environmental Geosciences, Engineering Science, Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy, Psychology, and three interdisciplinary programs: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mathematical Finance and Neuroscience.
The Semmes Foundation was established in 1952 by Dr. Douglas Ramsay (D. R.) Semmes (1892-1976), an independent oil geologist who received his doctorate from Columbia University in 1917 and worked in oil and gas exploration worldwide, according to the university.
The university said in its release that the Semmes Foundation previously funded the Thomas Semmes Chemistry Hall when Trinity first came to its present campus, endowed a chemistry professorship and established the Semmes Distinguished Scholars in Science Scholarship.
