1:13 p.m., June 8, 2009----T.W. Fraser Russell's career, which spans almost 50 years in academia, has convinced him that it is critical for students to broaden their views and their experience beyond the classroom. “Otherwise they don't have enough data to know what they want to do when they finish their education,” he says.

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Russell, who is the Allan P. Colburn Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Delaware, will retire in August 2009. His five decades of teaching, research, and service are being commemorated by the creation of the T.W. Fraser Russell Undergraduate Enrichment Endowment.

The fund will enable chemical engineering undergraduates at UD to have valuable learning experiences that complement classroom teaching.

“The fund reflects Russell's greatest interest,” says Norman Wagner, Alvin B. and Julia O. Stiles Professor of Chemical Engineering and department chairperson, “and that is the quality and vitality of the overall student experience.”

Russell worked as a process design engineer before coming to UD to study for a Ph.D., and he is a firm believer in the value of experience. Upon his wife's death in 1998, he endowed a fund for a teaching fellows program that supports two graduate students each year, one at the University of Delaware and another at Russell's alma mater, the University of Alberta in Canada. The program enables the fellows to teach undergraduate classes under the close supervision of a faculty mentor.

With the teaching fellowships as a model, the new fund will provide fellowships of $4,000 to enable selected undergraduate students to do research with UD faculty members or participate in an alternative enrichment experience such as Engineers Without Borders. Another option offers students a $2,000 stipend to be matched by an industrial sponsor for a summer internship opportunity.

“I'm looking for imagination from these young people,” Russell says. “This is my attempt to improve the thought processes of young engineers. We have so many bright students in our program, but it astounds me that a lot of them have done nothing but go to school. They need input from the world to enable them to evaluate themselves.”

Russell is pleased so far with the results of the teaching fellows program, and he hopes that the academic enrichment fellowships prove equally successful. “I plan to keep an eye on how the program works,” he says. “I hope that it will change and develop over time.”

“This is a very fitting tribute to Fraser's career here at Delaware,” says Michael Chajes, dean of UD's College of Engineering. “The concept underlying these fellowships reflects not only his personal convictions about what an engineering education should be but also the increased focus within the college and across the university on the importance of experiential learning, partnerships, and global initiatives. Fraser has had a tremendous impact on education at the University of Delaware during his career, and the enrichment endowment will ensure that his impact continues long after his retirement.”

“Fraser has been a friend and colleague for many years,” says Mort Collins, who earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering at UD in 1958 and currently chairs the department's advisory council. “His retirement comes after a record-breaking term of service to UD. Literally thousands of students have been positively impacted by his teaching.”

The T.W. Fraser Russell Symposium will be held on Aug. 24 to honor Russell's contributions to the University, which include serving as director of the Institute of Energy Conversion, chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering, associate dean and acting dean of the College of Engineering, and, most recently, vice provost for research.

Russell, who joined the UD faculty in 1964, is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). He is the recipient of a number of other honors and awards, including UD's Francis Alison Award. Earlier this year, he received the Lifetime Achievement in Chemical Engineering Pedagogical Scholarship Award from the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE).

For more information about the T.W. Fraser Russell Fund, contact Armand Battisti, director of development for the College of Engineering, at (302) 831-7273 or [aab@udel.edu].

Article by Diane Kukich