Dr. Gary April

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Dr. Gary April, head of the chemical engineering department in The University of Alabama College of Engineering and a distinguished University Research Professor, recently received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award.

The prestigious Sullivan Awards are given to recognize those faculty, staff and students in institutions throughout the South who exhibit excellence of character and service to humanity. April’s “commitment to his colleagues, to the department of chemical engineering, to the College of Engineering and to the University exemplify this award,” a nominator said. “In fact, this commitment is exceeded only by his dedication to his students -- to both their personal and professional growth.”

April is originally from Metairie, La., and received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Louisiana State University. He has been with UA since 1969, when he joined the faculty as an assistant professor. Through the years he has been promoted to the rank of professor and then named University Research Professor, and he served as assistant dean of research and graduate studies for the College.

Since becoming the departmental chair of chemical engineering in 1996, he has been instrumental in recruiting and hiring several exceptional faculty members and has led the substantial strengthening of the department’s graduate programs. He has also been extremely effective in development activities, such as securing hundreds of thousands of dollars in commitments to programs like undergraduate scholarships, and in recruiting high school students to come to the University.

In 1991, April received the Service to Society Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers for founding Project R.O.S.E. (Recycled Oil Saves Energy), a volunteer used motor oil outreach and education program headquartered in UA’s chemical engineering department, now entering its 25th year of operation. In 1997, he received both the T. Morris Hackney Faculty Leadership Award from the UA College of Engineering and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ Outstanding Professor Award.

The Sullivan Awards were established by the New York Southern Society in 1925 in memory of Algernon Sydney Sullivan, a southerner who became a prominent businessman and philanthropist in New York in the late 19th century.