Dr. Klaus Woelk recently received the Dean’s Medal for Outstanding Commitment to Undergraduate Student Success in the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education (CASE) at Missouri S&T.

Woelk, associate dean for academic affairs in CASE and an associate professor of chemistry at S&T, was surprised by members of the Dean’s Leadership Council with the award while he was teaching class on Friday, April 18.

“We had many amazing candidates for the award this year, but Klaus stood out from the rest with his continual advocacy for students,” says Dr. Casey Burton, chair of the CASE Dean’s Leadership Council and executive director of research and governmental affairs at Phelps Health. Burton holds bachelor’s and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry from S&T.

“I would like to thank all the campus community who nominated candidates,” Burton says. “It goes to show the quality of faculty Missouri S&T has and giving this award to the winners each year is one of my favorite parts of being on the council.”

Woelk joined the Missouri S&T faculty in 2003 and has served as interim chair of the chemistry department. In 2011, he won the inaugural University of Missouri System President’s Award for Innovative Teaching for his unique approaches to redesigning large enrollment courses with technology-supported active learning strategies.

“Klaus has maintained an outstanding dedication to his students, even after joining my office to work as an administrator,” says Dr. Mehrzad Boroujerdi, vice provost and dean of CASE. “He constantly works to improve the campus community and departmental outreach, and to think of new ways to creatively teach chemistry to students in an engaging manner.”

Woelk earned bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry from the University of Bonn in Germany in 1984, 1988 and 1991, respectively. His research specializations include physical chemistry, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and bio-based liquid fuel properties.

About Missouri S&T

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top public universities for salary impact, according to the Wall Street Journal. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.