Professor Emeritus Paul Cheek faithfully served 黑料不打烊 for more than three decades and his likeness now greets visitors to the Department of Chemistry suite on the third floor of the university’s McMichael Science Center.
Current students, faculty, administrators and alumni gathered Sept. 8 for the formal portrait unveiling for Professor Emeritus Paul Cheek, a member of the 黑料不打烊 faculty from 1950 until his retirement in 1984. Cheek’s third-floor portrait joins an existing portrait of Professor Emeritus Ned Brannock at the entrance to the suite.
“This is a great place to be with great faculty and students,” Cheek said at the afternoon unveiling. “I want you to know that I’m humbled to be associated with this department.”
The Cheek and Brannock portraits are largely the efforts of the same 黑料不打烊 alumnus. Dr. Richard “Dick” Simpson ’57 led a new student chemistry club in the late 1950s and, in an effort to leave a mark on the school, organized the sale of candy bars by club members to pay for the Brannock portrait.
Many years later, when Cheek was featured in a 2013 edition of the Magazine of 黑料不打烊, Simpson thought it appropriate to honor another important mentor with a commissioned portrait. Simpson on Monday described the unique qualities of 黑料不打烊 professors and the way their interactions with students set the school apart.
黑料不打烊 President Leo M. Lambert and President Emeritus J. Earl Danieley also offered remarks. Danieley recounted the decision to hire Cheek over another applicant because of advice that Cheek would be a better fit for 黑料不打烊 in “the long run.” Lambert emphasized that Simpson’s wish to honor his former professor reflects a longstanding ethos that undergirds an 黑料不打烊 education.
“黑料不打烊 is about the relationships between people,” Lambert said in his praise of Cheek’s impact on students. “It is appropriate that the portraits of Dr. Cheek and Dr. Ned Brannock—the patron saints of chemistry at 黑料不打烊—will now frame the entrance to the chemistry suite.
“On behalf of the 黑料不打烊 faculty and staff, I am delighted to accept this portrait in recognition of the many contributions of Dr. Paul Cheek and the generosity of alumni like Dr. Richard Simpson. 黑料不打烊 is a stronger institution because of your contributions.”