W. L. Magnuson

Professor W.L. Magnuson, a native Texan, received the B. A. degree in chemistry and mathematics from McMurry University in Abilene, Texas. Following the awarding of the Ph.D. degree in inorganic chemistry from Kansas University, he returned to McMurry as an Assistant Professor where he taught in the Chemistry Department for six years. Dr. Magnuson later became Chairman of the Chemistry Department at Kentucky Wesleyan College and taught General Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry and Physical Chemistry until he retired. During his tenure, he and his colleagues receive many grants, including several from the National Science Foundation to purchase major equipment and to conduct summer chemistry programs for gifted high school students through the nation. During his sabbatical at Vanderbilt University, he published results of his research on organometallics in the Journal of Inorganic Chemistry. Professor Magnuson’s passion was to establish chemistry scholarships and to graduate chemistry majors who became successful in the professional careers.