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Dr. Betts Receives Outstanding Faculty Award

by Kutztown University

Dr. Betts Receives Outstanding Faculty Award

KUTZTOWN, PA – Dr. Thomas Betts, professor of Chemistry, has been named the 2019 recipient of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Outstanding Faculty Award. This honor recognizes a faculty member in the college with a consistent and conscientious commitment to student success both in and out of the classroom.

With more than 26 years of teaching experience, Betts has been with Kutztown University since 1992. Prior to his tenure at KU, he served as both a research chemist and laboratory manager for Quaker State Motor Oil Corporation.

Throughout his career, Betts has authored and co-authored 23 publications, 12 of which stemmed from his work at KU and six of which were co-authored with KU undergraduate students, as well as served as a mentor in more than 16 KU undergraduate research projects that resulted in conference presentations. During his time at KU, Betts has dedicated himself to undergraduate research, having served as a mentor in more than 50 undergraduate research projects with 60 KU students over the years. Betts proudly lists descriptions of all of these projects on the KU Chemistry website in the hopes that they will provide current and prospective students with a sense of the possibilities that exist in KU undergraduate research.

Betts is also dedicated to teaching learners of all levels. While he has taught chemistry courses ranging from Introduction to Chemistry to Senior Seminar, his primary responsibilities are in Analytical Chemistry I and II along with Introduction to Forensic Science.

Betts earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and a Doctor of Philosophy in analytical chemistry from the State University of New York at Buffalo.