Stetson University Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Harry Price is the recipient of Stetson University’s 2011 John Hague Teaching Award for outstanding teaching in the liberal arts and sciences.

The Hague Award, named for the late Professor Emeritus of American Studies and former Honors Program Director John Hague, is presented annually to a faculty member in Stetson’s College of Arts & Sciences. Recipients are selected by students and faculty members of Stetson’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society for the liberal arts and sciences.

The Phi Beta Kappa students who nominated Price praised him for “challenging students to think differently about science” and elevating “the way we think about concepts, often in the most imaginative ways.” Price “allows students to question, reason and experience education driven by self-interest, motivation, and creativity rather than by perfunctory tasks,” a nomination read.

A member of the College of Arts & Sciences faculty since 2001, Price is director of the university’s Biochemistry program. He teaches general chemistry labs, biochemistry and organic chemistry at Stetson. His research interests include investigating biomolecular interactions and producing ethanol and other useful chemicals from decomposing biomass. His work has been published in academic journals including Journal of Young Investigators, the International Journal of Quantum Chemistry and Biosystems. Outside the classroom, he enjoys playing music and cooking.

Price earned his Ph.D. in chemistry, with specialization in biochemistry, from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He was a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Biological Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.