Bruce Ellsworth of SUNY Oswego's Class of 1987 remembers the unfortunate circumstance that led to the introduction of a mentor who would affect his life’s path.

During the second semester of his organic chemistry class with Pearl Monroe, his professor was hospitalized and subsequently passed away. Augustine Silveira Jr. stepped in to finish teaching the rest of the semester.

“Dr. Silveira is such a passionate scientist and teacher that I decided to do undergraduate research in his lab, setting me on a path to do chemistry research for the rest of my career,” Ellsworth said.

Across the country at the University of California at Irvine, Geeta Govindarajoo was studying chemistry and biology when Silveira, who was on sabbatical from SUNY Oswego, crossed paths with her.

“We were both inspired by this passionate SUNY Oswego faculty member,” said Ellsworth, who returned to SUNY Oswego on April 12 with his now wife, Govindarajoo, to deliver the Dr. Augustine Silveira Jr. Distinguished Lecture.

During their visit to Oswego, they also met with biochemistry major Emily Harte, who was selected as the first recipient of the Geeta Govindarajoo and Bruce Ellsworth ’87 Scholarship.

“We were so excited to meet our first scholarship recipient,” said Ellsworth, executive director and head of Oncology East and BBRC Medicinal Chemistry at Bristol Myers Squibb in Princeton, N.J. “She’s an impressive student-athlete, and she said that the scholarship both validated her choice of major while also relieving some of the financial pressure of her academic pursuit.”

The scholarship provides financial support to a chemistry, biochemistry or geochemistry student at SUNY Oswego who has demonstrated academic initiative and success with a minimum GPA of 3.3 while also having documented financial need.

“We established the scholarship for students heading into their junior year with the possibility of renewal in their senior year to ensure that top students are not lost in later years of their studies,” said Govindarajoo, who is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and the assistant dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

Although both Ellsworth and Govindarajoo have affiliations with other universities for their various academic degrees, they said their mutual appreciation for Silveira, and Ellsworth’s gratitude for his other Oswego faculty, guided their decision about establishing a scholarship.

“When the time came to establish a scholarship, SUNY Oswego was the obvious choice,” Ellsworth said. “We were inspired by our friends Emily and Mike Mazzella '85 who recently established the Mazzella Family Scholarship, and we thought that the time was right for us to pay forward the fortunate careers that we’ve had to encourage others in chemistry.”

Their scholarship also supports the Transforming Lives Scholarship initiative and advances President Peter O. Nwosu’s Vision 4040: Expanding SUNY Oswego’s Promise, which seeks to double the annual number of graduates by 2040 to meet the needs of the Central New York region.

“We are pleased that President Nwosu has been welcomed to the SUNY Oswego campus and he has engaged with students with an aim to ensure more students graduate from SUNY Oswego,” Ellsworth said. “The campus has amazing resources, and it is a pleasure to welcome a president who looks to capitalize on the resources for the betterment of society via increasing enrollment and matriculation.”

The couple has not only witnessed the impact that scientific advances have on society, they have helped make those contributions.

“I am honored to have been part of a large team that discovered and developed a new medicine for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus,” Ellsworth said. “Several of the skills employed in this contribution stemmed directly from my training at SUNY Oswego, especially under the tutelage of Dr. Silveira.”

“While it’s hard to say that this new medicine would fail to exist had Bruce not been encouraged forward during his early studies at SUNY Oswego, the fact is that the training and encouragement at SUNY Oswego were integral to Bruce’s development, and he was integral in the team that discovered this important class of treatments for patients,” Govindarajoo added.

The couple said they are happy to be able to provide assistance to future scientists through their scholarship.

“We hope to encourage students to pursue and complete their degrees in science with the hope that they will uncover new knowledge, new facts, and promote a common understanding of the natural world that surrounds us,” Ellsworth said. “Some students may decide to pursue teaching professions wherein they can amplify their impact on society, inspiring others as Professors Shineman, Munroe and Silveira have done for us.”