Courington Awarded UA Engineering Outstanding Alumni Volunteer Award

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama College of Engineering awards David G. Courington with the 2012 Outstanding Alumni Volunteer Award.

Courington will receive his award at a ceremony March 31 at the NorthRiver Yacht Club.

Throughout his career, Courington has demonstrated his love and loyalty to UA through his service on the Chemical and Biological Engineering advisory board and the Capstone Engineering Society board of directors. He is currently serving as Chair of the Capstone Engineering Society. Courington is also active with the UA National Alumni Association, UA Museums, Tide Pride and the Red Elephant Club.

Courington has maintained strong ties to the Capstone and has helped the College continue to understand the viewpoint of major engineering industries and how the College can better prepare students for the workforce. In his role as mentor, Courington has launched countless graduates on their careers through personal contact, networking and opportunities for employment

Courington received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from The University of Alabama in 1974 and a MBA from Alabama A&M in 1979. Courington was a UA cooperative education student at 3M, where he worked 38 years before retiring. In his final assignment at 3M, Courington was operations manager, responsible for all aspects of manufacturing at the Alabama Material Resources plant in Decatur.

In 2003, he was instrumental in the rebirth of the Decatur plant by providing leadership in the acquisition of new product lines and businesses, including the French firm, Solvay, bringing plant employment back to about 800 people at the time.

As owner and principal of David G. Courington Consulting LLC, he is currently a chemical industry consultant with specialties in chemical processing, safety, environmental and project management.

Courington was named a Chemical Engineering Fellow in 2002, College of Engineering Distinguished Engineering Fellow in 2006 and Chemical Engineering Centennial Fellow in 2010. He is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes. Today, UA’s fully accredited College of Engineering has more than 3,300 students and more than 100 faculty. In the last eight years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.