{"326721":{"#nid":"326721","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Alumni Honor Liotta\u2019s Legacy with Endowment","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe impact a college professor has on his or her students is difficult to measure, especially for students who graduated long before formalized course evaluations were adopted.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p4\u0022\u003EFor alumnus Rodney C. \u201cRocky\u201d von Dullen, the impact that Professor Charles L. Liotta had on his college experience was profound.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cProfessor Liotta was the most open, warm, and human of professors I had at Georgia Tech,\u201d said von Dullen. \u201cHe showed me that the road to success was not only about the engineering and the technology, but also about the people required to get the job done. He\u2019s a people person who cares about his students, and he set an example that I\u2019ve always tried to follow.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EIn appreciation for Liotta\u2019s tireless mentoring of thousands of Tech students and in celebration of his 50th anniversary as a Tech faculty member, von Dullen and his wife, alumna Catherine Dowling von Dullen, will establish the Charles L. Liotta Faculty Endowment Fund, which will establish faculty appointments in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry that bear Liotta\u2019s name.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EProfessor Liotta is widely revered among generations of Georgia Tech alumni, faculty, and staff. After earning a bachelor\u2019s degree from Brooklyn College in 1959 and a doctorate from the University of Maryland in 1963, Liotta joined the Tech chemistry faculty in 1964 \u2013 also holding a joint appointment in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EHe has served as advisor to 81 doctoral students, 33 postdoctoral associates, and 25 master\u2019s students; he currently serves as thesis advisor to five Ph.D. students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EIn addition to his decades of service as a committed teacher, leading research scientist, and devoted mentor, Liotta also served as chair of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, director of the Institute of Sustainable Technology and Development, and \u2014 at the Institute level \u2014 as vice provost for research and dean of graduate studies. In 2003, Professor Liotta was named an honorary alumnus by the Georgia Tech Alumni Association in honor of his lifetime of achievement on the campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cI am very honored that the von Dullens would hold me in such great favor,\u201d Liotta said. \u201cThrough my entire career at Georgia Tech, I\u2019ve always tried to put students first and to provide good advice for them, because I knew that whatever they experienced at Georgia Tech could affect their future professional lives.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cAs I look back over my career at Georgia Tech, one of the things I have always strived to do is to let students see the joy and excitement of discovery,\u201d Liotta explained. \u201cIn the classroom, my subject matter is chemistry. Chemistry is exciting! My goal is to present the subject matter through my eyes. If students catch on to that excitement, they\u2019ll both retain and enjoy what I am teaching. I have learned that if you\u2019re not excited about what you\u2019re teaching, the students will sense it, and this could prove to be a barrier to learning. I always try to remind myself that I am an important influence for the growth and maturation of my students. All professors should be aware of this. Most important \u2014 students should always come first.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERocky von Dullen and his wife will establish\u0026nbsp;the Charles L. Liotta Faculty Endowment Fund for faculty appointments in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Rocky von Dullen and his wife will establish the Charles L. Liotta Faculty Endowment Fund for faculty appointments in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2014-09-18 13:27:31","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:07","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"326711":{"id":"326711","type":"image","title":"Liotta at Commencement","body":null,"created":"1449245041","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:04:01","changed":"1475895037","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:37","alt":"Liotta at Commencement","file":{"fid":"200233","name":"liotta.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/liotta_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/liotta_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4974802,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/liotta_0.jpg?itok=HrO-QvjH"}}},"media_ids":["326711"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4498","name":"Chemistry and Biochemistry"},{"id":"351","name":"development"},{"id":"2839","name":"liotta"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:dan.treadaway@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EDan Treadaway\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}