The Virginia Zehren Endowed Chair in Chemistry was established by Vincent Zehren in memory of his wife Virginia.

Both Vincent and Virginia had prominent careers. Vincent Zehren was a student at St. Norbert College in the 1940s and graduated in 1948 and went on to receive master's and doctorate degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

After 15 months in New Zealand on a Fulbright Scholarship, Vincent worked as a research associate at UW-Madison and then went to work at Schreiber Foods, Inc. Vincent retired as vice president of industry affairs at Schreiber Foods in 1989.

Virginia Zehren taught chemistry at St. Norbert and at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, served as a consultant at Schreiber Cheese Co. and worked as a pharmacist at Bellin Hospital.

The proceeds from the endowment are used to support the teaching and research activities of the chair and to bring speakers to the St. Norbert College campus. Dr. Klopotek used the funds from the Virginia Zehren Endowed Chair in Chemistry to provide summer research support for a St. Norbert chemistry major each of the past three summers and has also supported student travel to present their research.