A general liberal arts education helps encourage life-long learning, according to the Faculty Laureate Ann Fritz.

Fritz, an associate professor of biology, believes that life-long learning, the type promoted in an undergraduate general liberal arts curriculum, such as Eastern’s, stays with the learner even if they change careers or life goals.

“A quality education goes well beyond what is a printed on a diploma,” Fritz said. “It is training to understand information and to participate in important democratic decisions in our society – for the rest of your life.”

The Faculty Laureate delivers an address at the fall convocation ceremony to welcome the incoming freshman class and serves on some committees to represent faculty.

The Faculty Laureate also participates in choosing the Faculty Laureate next year and introduces them at the next convocation.

The Faculty Laureate is chosen through the work of a committee through the Council on Academic Affairs.

Nominations are sought throughout campus. They include letters of nomination and support, and a statement from the nominee concerning the value of general liberal arts education. The Faculty Laureate is open to both tenure-track and annually contracted faculty at Eastern, and focuses on a commitment to general liberal arts education.

“It was an honor to simply be nominated, let alone to be chosen as this year’s Faculty Laureate,” Fritz said. “So, I was excited and deeply honored when I received Dr. (Julie) Dietz’s phone call that I had been chosen.”

When asked why she felt she was chosen, Fritz said, “The faculty committee that makes these decisions saw that over the years I have been here, I had made and continue to make significant contributions to Eastern’s mission that of being a student-centered university with a primary focus on top-notch undergraduate education.”

Fritz believes that Eastern is poised to develop into one of the best regional institutions of its kind, as one that offers students unprecedented access to faculty in small classes and with many opportunities for involvement with faculty on creative activities and research projects.

“This type of involvement with professors on an individual basis is simply not possible at big, research institutions, for most undergraduate students,” Fritz said.

Since 2001, Fritz has mentored 19 undergraduate students in independent undergraduate research projects. Many of these students were able to obtain jobs or entry into professional or graduate school, in part, because of their research experiences.

Fritz has taught classes of all levels.

“I enjoy teaching freshman as they are exploring what Eastern has to offer them, and are making important decisions for their trajectory at Eastern,” Fritz said.

Fritz received her bachelor’s degree in biology with a medical entomology minor from the University of California at Davis. She earned a master’s in epidemiology from UCD and concurrently earned a certificate in college teaching. Her Ph.D. is in ecology, evolution and behavior with a minor in physiology from Indiana University in Bloomington.

Fritz has been a professor at Eastern since 2001, but previously worked as an annually contracted faculty member in the former zoology department from 1995 to 1997.

“I have been involved in the study of insects for most of my professional career,” Fritz said. “I first started out by pursuing studies of medically important insects; then I began to investigate processes underlying reproduction in insects.”

Currently, her students are using DNA fingerprinting techniques to determine how female flies store and use sperm from different mates.

The term of the Faculty Laureate is one year. Fritz’s term started in August and she holds the title until 2008. So far each professor that has been named Faculty Laureate has only been selected for one term.

Ann Fritz, an associate biology professor, has mentored 19 different students with independent undergraduate research projects. Fritz is the Faculty Laureate for the 2007 year.

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