BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University President Richard F. Wilson announced Tuesday that Chemistry Professor Ram Mohan has been awarded the Earl H. and Marian A. Beling Professorship in the Natural Sciences at Illinois Wesleyan.
“Endowed professorships honor faculty members who have distinguished themselves in terms of teaching, research, and service,” said Wilson. “Dr. Mohan is a recognized scholar, both nationally and internationally, and is an exemplary teacher and mentor for students at Illinois Wesleyan. We are pleased to recognize his accomplishments in this very special way.”
“I am both deeply honored and humbled to be named the Beling Professor,” said Mohan, who has been teaching at Illinois Wesleyan since 1996. “It offers great encouragement and validation for the work I have been doing at Illinois Wesleyan with our own students.” Mohan’s celebrated research is geared toward discovering environmentally friendly synthetic methods for chemists to use at pharmaceutical and other companies. His work is known worldwide and published in international journals.
“The Belings, who are remembered as humanitarians and philanthropists dedicated to their community and education, established the professorship because of their admiration for the liberal arts at Illinois Wesleyan and because of the quality of the IWU faculty,” said Ben Rhodes, associate vice president for advancement at Illinois Wesleyan. Earl Beling, who died in 1977, was the founder of Beling Engineering Consultants, which had offices throughout the Midwest. A resident of Moline, Ill., Mr. Beling was a former president of the Illinois Association of School Boards, and was one of the founders of Black Hawk College. Mrs. Beling, who died in 1970, was known for her volunteer work, and held several leadership positions with the Central Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church.