Freuler Receives the 2010 Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching

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Dr. Richard J. Freuler, Professor of Practice in the Department of Aerospace Engineering received the 2010 Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching from Dr. Gee in a surprise visit to his classroom.

The Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching honors faculty members for superior teaching. Recipients are nominated by present and former students and colleagues and are chosen by a committee of alumni, students, and faculty.

While part of Freuler’s duties include enticing students into the Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors (FEH) program of which he is faculty coordinator, the true measure of his success, his students say, is his undying passion for their success.  One former student described her experience under his tutelage thusly: “It was an incredibly empowering experience and changed the trajectory of my life,” she said. “That may sound extreme, but I was going to be a math major and move back to my hometown and teach math.  Dr. Freuler showed me that I could be an engineer, and suddenly I felt I had so many other options.”  Such examples are why enrollment in FEH has increased 400 percent since 1998 under Freuler and reached an all-time high of 431 students in fall 2009.

The Engineers Council, a group of undergraduate leaders in the college, has bestowed Freuler with the Charles Ellison MacQuigg Award, which faculty are eligible for every four years, in 2000, ’04 and ’08.  Freuler also received the college’s inaugural David C. McCarthy Teaching Award in 2008, which honors contributions to create more innovative and effective teaching and learning.

Recipients of this award receive a cash prize of $3000, made possible by contributions from the Alumni Association, friends of Ohio State, and the Office of Academic Affairs. They also receive a $1,200 increase in their base salaries from the Office of Academic Affairs.  Awardees will be inducted into the university's Academy of Teaching, which provides leadership for the improvement of teaching at Ohio State.

Category: Faculty