TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Walter Dale Vickery, a senior in chemical engineering at The University of Alabama, has been awarded a Graduate Council Fellowship to study at the UA graduate school after receiving his bachelor’s degree in May.

Vickery is the son of Dale and Peggy Vickery of Saraland and is a graduate of Satsuma High School. He is a member of the University’s chapter of the Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society and will be receiving his undergraduate degree with magna cum laude honors. He plans to pursue a doctorate in chemical engineering.

A Graduate Council Fellowship is considered the most competitive scholarship award offered by the University and is presented in recognition of a student’s outstanding record in their academic career and in anticipation of continued success as they pursue graduate studies. As a Graduate Council Fellow, Vickery will receive a full tuition scholarship along with a stipend.

In 1837, UA became the first university in the state to offer engineering classes and was one of the first five in the nation to do so. Today, the College of Engineering, with about 1,900 students and more than 90 faculty, is one of the three oldest continuously operating engineering programs in the country and has been fully accredited since accreditation standards were implemented in the 1930s.