In the fall of 2000, the LAS Dean's Quadrangle Award was inaugurated to honor the college's extraordinary friends — people who have demonstrated deep trust and support in its diverse mission and who have personified the unique benefits and responsibilities that define liberal arts and science education throughout their lives and careers. The award also recognizes individuals who have maintained a lifelong personal bond with the college.

Peixin He (PhD, '85, Faulkner) and his wife, Xiaoming Chen, made a donation to endow the Larry R. Faulkner Endowed Chair in Chemistry. Peixin He studied and worked with Faulkner and authored seven journal articles in electrochemistry with him. Meanwhile, Xiaoming Chen also worked under Faulkner as a visiting research scientist. He and Chen returned to China after leaving Illinois, holding faculty positions at Fudan University. They moved back to Illinois in 1990 and joined Faulker's research group again. In 1994, the couple established CH Instruments, a prosperous Texas-based firm specializing in electrochemical instrumentation.

Previous award recipients affiliated with chemistry include John (PhD, ’61) and Margaret Witt in 2018, Audrey (BA, '89, religious studies) and Theodore Brown (professor emeritus of chemistry) in 2015, Richard L. Wasson (BS, ’53, chemistry) in 2013, Carolyn and Robert (BS, '51, chemistry) Springborn in 2011, and James L. Foght (MS, '60; PhD, '63, chemistry) in 2005.