As a chemistry professor at Wayne State from 1959 to 2010, John P. Oliver was a Ph.D. advisor for 38 students, published more than 120 peer-reviewed papers and served in several university leadership roles. He passed away in 2016 but continues to inspire and prepare new chemists through the John P. Oliver, Ph.D., Endowed Research Fund.

Every so often, some of Oliver’s five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren visit campus for tours with professors who were taught by and worked with Oliver. They also meet with researchers and students trained through the Oliver Endowed Research Fund.

Users of the Lumigen Instrument Center share Oliver’s research focus on the synthesis and characterization of organometallic compounds is shared by users of the Lumigen Instrument Center. At the LIC, the Oliver Endowed Research Fund supports student training using nuclear magnetic resonance and other cutting-edge technologies.

The Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Laboratory inside the LIC is a massive successor to the first NMR machine at Wayne State that Oliver installed decades ago.

“I remember this picture of him fitting the old-school NMR machine into an elevator and being so excited to use it,” Oliver’s daughter Karen said. “What they have today is much more substantial.”   

Oliver’s endowment also provides students with training experience in the LIC’s Electron Microscopy Laboratory, Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Optical Spectroscopy Laboratory and X-Ray Diffraction Laboratory.

Located in the A. Paul Schaap Chemistry Building, LIC offers instrumentation and services to researchers in several departments at the university as well as  local and regional businesses. Because LIC research has significant environmental and medical applications, over 70 Wayne State research groups and 25 local companies utilize its services.

Career catalyst

Long before she became director of the LIC, Judy Westrick, Ph.D., was a Wayne State student at a crossroads.  

“I was going to leave chemistry behind and then I took Dr. Oliver's inorganic chemistry class, and his teaching got me excited about chemistry all over again,” Westrick said. “He could make anyone excited about chemistry.”  

In addition to all those Dr. Oliver influenced through teaching and mentorship, he leaves a legacy of accelerating social mobility by funding instrument training for students in the LIC.

“If an undergraduate leaves here and has been trained on mass spectrometry, it can make a $20,000 difference in their offer, and if they are trained to work on mass spectrometry and NMR, their odds of getting a job in Southeast Michigan are so much higher,” Westrick explained.

Character and characterization

Oliver had a lifelong love for Chemistry. As a curious child, he accidently created a “carbon bomb" in his mom's kitchen with one of his experiments. Oliver’s wife Elizabeth (Betty) said her husband “was always thinking about chemistry,” and recalls how he would often circle his fingers into the air, concentrating on imaginary molecules he visualized adhering to and separating from each other.

Oliver’s family stays in touch with students as they graduate and transition into exciting careers. Betty even sends them care packages with greetings, gifts and snacks. Such genuine, lasting relationships are exactly the kind Oliver was known for in life.

“He did a lot of work in the background, but he made his voice heard,” Karen said. “As much as he cared about the institution and the work, his loyalty was ultimately to the people.”

“He cared about all the people that worked for him," Betty added. "There wasn't anyone who was too small.”

The Olivers maintain a booklet of their family values and memories. It states that John and Betty are “committed to the past and the future and also planted seeds for future generations to attend college, appreciate the world around them and build healthy relationships.”

Accordingly, Dr. Oliver created 529 college savings plans to help each of his great-grandchildren achieve their educational dreams, and the Oliver Endowed Research Fund helps Wayne State students follow theirs.

“Our family has tried to put into words a legacy to help his great-grandchildren understand the values he held. These are the same values that my father taught his students at Wayne State,” Karen said.

Support the Oliver Endowed Research Fund by visiting give.wayne.edu, selecting ‘other’ as the gift designation and typing in Oliver Endowed Research Fund. Or by contacting Stephanie E. Hoenig at 313-577-5241 or shoenig@wayne.edu.