Glendale Community College professor Asmik Oganesyan was awarded the 2022-23 Teacher-Scholar Award from the Silicon Valley Section of the American Chemical Society.
The SVACS Teacher-Scholar Award honors community college faculty who demonstrate excellence in teaching, mentoring and scholarship, and who make impactful contributions to their communities through outstanding leadership and service.
“I am grateful to teach these talented students the beauty of organic chemistry,” Oganesyan said. “It takes a village to receive this honorable award, and I am humbled and honored to represent our college to the largest scientific community of the world.”
Oganesyan became a full-time instructor at GCC in 2008. In her first year, she started the Organic Chemistry Independent Research Program with nine aspiring students. Since then, Oganesyan has trained more than 230 students who are now pursuing careers in doctoral programs and medical, dental and pharmaceutical fields. Her students presented their research outcomes at multiple local, regional and national meetings.
In 2018, Oganesyan was awarded a GCC Academic Senate Distinguished Faculty Award for excellence in teaching and contributions to the chemistry programs. She published a textbook, “Organic Chemistry at Your Fingertips,” which was adopted at the college and is available free of charge to the students at GCC. She is also a coordinator of the Bridges to the Future program at California State University, Los Angeles, which gives qualified GCC students guaranteed transfer to CSULA and guidance to the nation’s most prestigious doctoral programs.
First published in the June 24 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.
