Recipients of the 2008 McClung Scholarship include:

• Kristy Hentchel
• Gwendolyn Humphreys
• Carolyn Rhodebeck

Recipients of the 2008 Microbiology Undergraduate Summer Research Award include:

• Smita Das
• Kristy Hentchel

The L.S. McClung Scholarship, which is endowed, was established in 1987 by Cornelius F. Sterling. Sterling was the first Indiana University undergraduate to receive a degree in bacteriology, the precursor to our current microbiology program. More . . .

The Microbiology Undergraduate Summer Research Award, which is also endowed, was established by the late Leland S. McClung in 1989. The award assists a student conducting scientific laboratory research under the guidance of a faculty mentor. More . . .

Professor Leland S. McClung, Ph.D., came to Indiana University in 1940, where he excelled as a professor, administrator, and researcher. McClung, who was internationally known for his research on anaerobic bacteria, created and then led for 25 years the Department of Bacteriology, which has now evolved into our microbiology program. In addition to building a model curriculum, McClung recruited prominent scientists for the department; the first faculty member he hired, Salvadore Luria, later became a Nobel Laureate.

According to Gary Sojka, former chair of Biology, “Professor McClung’s administrative talents were widely recognzied, appreciated, and sought after outside Indiana University.” Among his many esteemed positions, McClung was Vice President of the Society of Industrial Microbiology in 1958, President of the National Association for Biology Teachers in 1965, and the Archivist for the American Society for Microbiology. He also conducted numerous highly acclaimed summer institutes supported by the National Science Foundation that trained high school biology teachers in microbiology. Because of his experience running these institutes, the NSF later asked him to serve as a consultant to Taiwan and India. In 1980, he was awarded an honorary membership to the American Society of Microbiologists, one of the society’s highest distinctions.