Ansel and Virginia Condray, a Dallas couple, made a gift of $240,000 to the University Of Arkansas College Of Engineering to support the Ansel and Virginia Condray Endowed Professorship in Chemical Engineering.

The donation will be used to fund a highly qualified faculty member in the Ralph E. Martin department of chemical engineering to help the school continue its contributions to teaching, research and public service.

"Support of our faculty is paramount in our quest to become a top public research university," John English, dean of the College of Engineering, said in a statement. "Professorships like this allow us to attract and retain quality talent who are not only accomplished researchers but excellent teachers as well.

English said that the endowed position will help chemical engineering program remain at the forefront of engineering education.

Ansel Condray majored in chemical engineering after studying chemistry in high school.

"The biggest influence, in addition to my interest in chemistry," Ansel said, "was that it provided an opportunity to go many different directions."

Ansel worked as an engineer after receiving his bachelor's degree 1964. He subsequently held positions in departments of technology supervision, operations management and general management before retiring as chairman and production director of ExxonMobil International Ltd. in 2002.

Ansel was also a member of the College of Engineering Dean's Advisory Council.

"Being engaged allowed me to reflect on a lot of things," Ansel said. "It cemented the idea that the background and foundation I had been given enabled me to compete with people at big name schools. I knew that giving back would allow the university to continue to do that."