The Edgar M. Carlson Award for Distinguished Teaching dates back to 1971 when the Board of Trustees of Gustavus Adolphus College established this award to honor Dr. Edgar M. Carlson for his outstanding leadership and deep commitment to strengthening and maintaining the fine academic program at this college.
Each year, students, faculty and members of the administration are asked to nominate a member of the Gustavus faculty for this award-a stipend of $1,500.
The selection process, taking place in private quarters, is rigorous and intensive and any and all details, including the name of the winner of this award, are “best-kept” secrets.
Some time ago a list of criteria, to be used as a guide for nomination and selection, was prepared. I do not believe that those responsible for this list knew, that with the exception of one “C,” the first letter of each criterion, when arranged in meaningful order, spelled the word CREATE. That is the mnemonic device which I wish to present to you: C-creativity, R-respect, E-effectiveness, A-authority, T-trustworthiness and E-enthusiasm. The missing “C” stands for confidence which is normally a characteristic of everyone.
At this time, I would like to invite a creative teacher, Dr. William K. Freiert, winner of the 1986 Edgar M. Carlson Award for Distinguished Teaching to come to this platform.
Will, it is my pleasure to tell you and others present how admirably you fulfill all of the criteria and how your teaching gives meaning to the acronym CREATE.
Primarily for the guests who are present, the following formal information must be presented. Will Freiert received his A.B. degree from St. Louis University, an M.A. in Classics from St. Louis University, and a Ph. D. in Classics from the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Freiert has been very active in publishing, reading papers at meetings, and as a member of various professional organizations. He has been a faithful member of various college committees, the most interesting of which were: director of the Honors Program, member of the Long Range Planning Council, member of the Faculty Senate and member of the Personnel Committee.
Will would be the first to admit that anyone who is a firm believer in the ideals and hopes of this college would consider this to be normal activity and not necessarily distinguished behavior.
A large amount of material was made available to me relating to the life and legend of Will Freiert. It was my duty to read it and to distill from it the reasons for his success as a distinguished teacher.
As in any fine fabric, the warp and woof are obvious. They give substance and strength to the material. Students have discovered Dr. Freiert’s strengths and have written about them. One writes: “He respects student’s ideas and the students respect him in return, not only for the respect he initiates, but for his vast wealth of knowledge.”
Another student writes: “He demands the most of his students and receives it in ret urn, because he encourages mutual respect between students and professors.”
Most of us will agree that respect and confidence go hand-in-hand. They are the “fraternal twins” of success. William Freiert can be described as being “quietly confident.”
One can learn much about this man by reading a proposal that he submitted to a granting agency. Will wished to study and analyze two novels by an author, described by critics as being unreadable. Dr. Freiert stated that the author’s narrative was frequently disconnected and his setting usually undefined. The word ambivalence appears as several points in the proposal. Will states that the author often splits the image of a central character into several characters. Later in his proposal we find this bold statement: “I propose to analyze this author… ”
No little wonder that one with this confidence is able to command respect!
I believe that much of this man’s success is due to a very simple characteristic-he is able to make a true and firm analysis of himself. He understands and can define his relationships to others, his role in life, his goals and the part that spiritual events play in his world. In understanding his role, he has become a superior role-model to his students. Let’s pursue this point!
A student wrote: ”The neatest thing I thought he did was to relate everything we were talking about to all areas of life.” In his proposal Dr. Freiert stated: “I have continually attempted to relate the Classics to the contemporary world.”
Another student wrote: “Professor Freiert enjoys what he does. He makes the Classics real… he makes them make sense today.”
Will states: “My project would supply new insights into the continuing vitality of the Classical Tradition and into the way in which that tradition is constantly changing.”
There is no misunderstanding between professor and student as to the roles they are playing and the goals they are seeking. No wonder that our award winner is distinguished teacher!
At the time Dr. Freiert was hired, Classics was about to be deleted from the College’s foreign language offerings. Due to some exceptionally fine instruction from this man and others, a separate department of Classics was created in 1979. It is now a thriving department. The faculty, administration and students wish to thank Dr. Freiert for the part he has played in that success story.
The final complement comes from yet another student: “I would definitely take him again because I know he’d give 100% no matter what the course.”
At this point, on behalf of the students, faculty and administration, I wish to present to this “great story-teller of myth” the Edgar M. Carlson Award for Distinguished Teaching, for the year 1986.
Congratulations!
Presented by Arthur Glass
Professor of Biology
1985 Recipient of the Edgar M. Carlson Award