December 21, 2020
Dr. Kathleen Cornely named first Robert H. Walsh ’39 Endowed Professor in Chemistry and Biochemistry
By Vicki-Ann Downing
Dr. Kathleen Cornely, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Providence College for more than 25 years, has been appointed the Robert H. Walsh ’39 Endowed Professor in Chemistry and Biochemistry, the College’s first endowed chair in the sciences.
The professorship was created through a $6.5 million bequest to the College from Robert H. Walsh ’39 & ’66Hon., who died in 2011. Mr. Walsh earned degrees in business and chemistry from PC before beginning a 40-year career with DuPont Chemical Corp. In 1996, Albertus Magnus Hall at PC was dedicated to Mr. Walsh and two other alumni who studied the sciences, Samuel J. Chester ’34 and Rev. Charles V. Reichart, O.P. ’32.
The Walsh professor must exemplify excellence in teaching, maintain a program of research involving undergraduates, and present scholarship at leading conferences. The professor will chair the Walsh Research Support Committee, which distributes funds to support faculty research in chemistry and biochemistry, and will participate in donor stewardship through a partnership with the Office of Institutional Advancement.
Cornely, who will serve a three-year term, was the unanimous choice of her colleagues for the position.
“I am honored to be the first recipient of the Robert H. Walsh ’39 Endowed Professorship,” Cornely said, adding that she was privileged to meet Mr. Walsh during his visit to campus in 1996. “I aspire to live up to the legacy Mr. Walsh established.”
Cornely, who holds a Ph.D. in nutritional biochemistry from Cornell University, joined the faculty in 1992 as assistant professor of chemistry. She was promoted to associate professor in 1994 and professor in 2001. She has a master’s degree in biochemistry/endocrinology from Indiana University Bloomington and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Bowling Green State University. She serves as a faculty sponsor in the College’s business and innovation minor program.
“During her time at the College, Dr. Cornely has nearly single-handedly shepherded our biochemistry curriculum, tirelessly devoted her energy to innovative pedagogy in the classroom, and productively mentored students in the research laboratory,” said Dr. Kenneth Overly, associate professor of chemistry and department chair. “Choosing Dr. Cornely as the inaugural Walsh professor most genuinely honors Mr. Walsh’s wishes and fittingly rewards Dr. Cornely’s contributions to the College and our students.”
Cornely’s research specialty is mycobacterial phage — bacteria-killing viruses commonly found in soil. PC is one of more than 100 colleges and universities taking part in phage research through the Science Education Alliance, a partnership between the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the University of Pittsburgh.
In 2017, a phage isolated from soil at Providence College and modified by Cornely and her students was successfully used to treat a young woman in England. It was a worldwide medical breakthrough — the first successful use of a genetically modified virus to treat a drug-resistant infection.
Dr. Sheila Adamus Liotta, dean of the School of Arts & Sciences and associate professor of chemistry, said Cornely’s appointment is well deserved.
“Over the years, I have directly observed how Dr. Cornely has displayed an ongoing commitment to her students through her continuous efforts to innovate her teaching approach and to engage students in meaningful research projects,” Adamus Liotta said.
“The recent use of a bacteriophage compound that was isolated, purified, and genetically modified by Dr. Cornely and her research students in a successful treatment of a patient is a particularly impressive achievement few faculty-student research teams anywhere can claim, let alone those at a primarily undergraduate institution,” Adamus Liotta said. “I am very proud to have Dr. Cornely on our faculty, and I am truly grateful that Mr. Walsh’s donation allows us to recognize her many accomplishments with this endowed position.”
The Robert H. Walsh ’39 Endowed Professorship in Chemistry and Biochemistry is the College’s sixth endowed academic chair. In addition to establishing the professorship, the Walsh bequest bolstered the Robert H. Walsh Scholarship Fund and the Robert H. Walsh ’39 Academic Fund, which Mr. Walsh established earlier in his career in gratitude for his PC education. Since the Walsh Fellows Program was established, more than 50 students have received grants for a faculty-mentored or independent summer research experience in chemistry, biochemistry, and biology.
