Thanks to donors like you, the Dr. L.S. McClung Scholarship continues to generate income to support promising students.
McClung Scholarship
This award was established in 1987 by Cornelius F. Sterling (BA Bacteriology, 1942) to honor Dr. McClung.
About Leland S. McClung, Ph.D.
Professor Leland S. McClung, Ph.D., came to Indiana University in 1940, where he excelled as a professor, administrator, and researcher. McClung, who was internationally known for his research on anaerobic bacteria, created and then led for 25 years the Department of Bacteriology, which has now evolved into our microbiology program. In addition to building a model curriculum, McClung recruited prominent scientists for the department; the first faculty member he hired, Salvadore Luria, later became a Nobel Laureate.
According to Gary Sojka, former chair of Biology, “Professor McClung’s administrative talents were widely recognized, appreciated, and sought after outside Indiana University.” Among his many esteemed positions, McClung was Vice President of the Society of Industrial Microbiology in 1958, President of the National Association for Biology Teachers in 1965, and the Archivist for the American Society for Microbiology. He also conducted numerous highly acclaimed summer institutes supported by the National Science Foundation that trained high school biology teachers in microbiology. Because of his experience running these institutes, the NSF later asked him to serve as a consultant to Taiwan and India. In 1980, he was awarded an honorary membership to the American Society of Microbiologists, one of the society’s highest distinctions.
2024 Dr. L.S. McClung Scholar: Jenice Alexander
Jenice works in the Fuqua lab enabling her to explore a potential career in microbiology. The award opportunity will allow her to use the resources available to prepare her for a career as a MD/Ph.D. student.
2024 Dr. L.S. McClung Scholar: Mia de las Alas
Mia is a microbiology student pursuing research and plans to use the award to help with tuition and other school fees.
2024 Dr. L.S. McClung Scholar: Lauren (Wren) Garcia
Wren is pursuing a B.S. in Microbiology with hopes of attending graduate school to pursue a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology. Wren currently works in the Hardy lab and will intern in the Drug Discovery and Development department at Eli Lilly this summer in New York City.
2024 Dr. L.S. McClung Scholar: Melody Sutter
Melody works in the Tuli lab, where she is investigating how the replication cycles of fluorescent-tagged alphaviruses differ from wild-type. Melody is also an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant for the Phage Hunters ASURE Lab. She is majoring in Microbiology and French and hopes to use her microbiology background to pursue infectious disease medicine and public health in the future.
About the Dr. L.S. McClung Scholarship
The McClung Scholarship was established in 1987 by Cornelius “Con” F. Sterling. Sterling earned his B.A. in 1942. He was the first Indiana University undergraduate to receive a degree in bacteriology, the precursor to our current microbiology program. The award honors Professor L.S. McClung, who was chair of the Bacteriology Department when Sterling was a student.
The scholarship is available to in-state microbiology majors who excel academically and plan to work in the field of or pursue a graduate degree in microbiology.
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