Dr. Neal Sumerlin, professor of chemistry at Lynchburg College, has been awarded the 2008 Elsie Ervin Bock Faculty Citizenship Award. The Bock Award is named in memory of a former professor of English who died in 1996 and recognizes Lynchburg College faculty for outstanding contributions to the College and the greater Lynchburg community.
Dr. Sumerlin has served Lynchburg College, his church, and the community for more than 30 years, joining the LC faculty in 1976. Through his vision and guidance, the Belk Astronomical Observatory was constructed and is now operating at the College's Claytor Nature Study Center. In conjunction with this project, he publishes Astronomy News, a periodic e-mail newsletter for the campus community.
Dr. Sumerlin mentored the U.S. national Chemistry Olympiad Team for three years and has served as an expert witness for chemical science in several court cases.
A member of numerous Lynchburg College committees, Dr. Sumerlin has been an LC Human Rights Advisor and is one of the founders of PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions), which provides LC students with peer assisted tutoring for particularly difficult classes.
He is an active member of Heritage United Methodist Church, serving as a Sunday School teacher, member of the Mission Outreach Team, and past chair of the Pastor Parish Relations Committee.
He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Ouachita University and his Ph.D. in nuclear chemistry from the University of Arkansas.