SCOTT DOWNEY
Special to the Leader
Many students have a great deal of respect and admiration for their professors here at Fredonia. It is always nice to see one win an award for all of their hard work and dedication.
Dr. Timothy Frerichs, a visual arts and new media professor, received the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award ceremony was held in the Juliet J. Rosch Recital Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
According to his website, Frerichs earned a Bachelor of Arts from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, and a Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa.
He has received numerous awards, including the USA Projects Grant, the Netherland-America Foundation Cultural Grant, the Constance Saltonstall Foundation Grant for Printmaking and many others.
As an artist, Frerichs is passionate about paper. He believes that paper is just as important a medium as the printer or the pencil.
“Looking at paper, it is a substrate you write on or print off, and you don’t give it much thought, especially if it works well,” he said.
But why think about paper? Frerichs believes that what type of paper you choose will have an impact on the finished product. He teaches his students to view paper as a resource, not only to communicate with, but look at it to help with creative problem solving.
One of the subjects that he teaches is printmaking, or the reproduction of an image. Evolving out of wood cuts, its purpose is to make a more singular image versus mass printing like a newspaper.
It is used for etchings, engravings and fine arts to create a fixed matrix on the substrate. Then it is used to create a more artistic image than mass printing.
“I am really proud of the teaching at Fredonia,” Fredonia President Virginia Horvath said. “We have a dedicated faculty and it is hard to think of which one to honor.”
According to Horvath, there is a challenging screening process that teachers must go through to get the award. “I am always excited about the award and proud of the person who is coming forward,” she said.
“Tim is a great teacher because he loves what he does, and his enthusiasm is contagious,” senior Cielo Ornelas Macfarlane said. “If Tim’s excited about wood grain, you are too, and if Tim’s excited about beating plant pulp, you are too.”
“I’m now also really interested in different types of media that I never would have engaged in without him,” continued Macfarlane. “Now, because of Tim, when I graduate from Fredonia next semester I’m not just going to be out there in the world making photographs, I’m also going to be making prints, making books, and making paper.”
We can thank not only Frerichs’ ideology, but his love of nature for bringing him to Fredonia as well. Before coming to Fredonia in the fall of 2006, he taught at a small private liberal arts college.
Seeking to make a change, Fredonia seemed like a good fit for Frerichs because the affordability of state college meant gaining a diverse variety of students. His previous college was not arts-oriented like Fredonia.
Originating from Minnesota and spending time on Lake Superior, Frerichs wanted to be near a large body of water and plenty of snow, as he is an avid skier and snowshoer.
“I love the Great Lakes,” he said. “People like to complain about the winters here but I think they’re fantastic.”