The information below is specific to Commencement 2008; check back here soon to learn about the 2009 Frazier Award recipients.

The John R. Frazier Award for Excellence in Teaching is customarily presented at Commencement in recognition of an exceptionally gifted faculty member. It is named for John R. Frazier [RISD President, 1955-62 + Professor of Painting + Drawing], whose family — at his death in 1968 — joined with alumni and friends in establishing an endowed fund in his memory.

The 2008 Frazier Award
Hanna Hohenberg [Senior Critic, Apparel Design]
Leslie Fontana [Associate Professor of Industrial Design]
For two decades, Hohenberg’s students have appreciated her knowledge and passion for tailoring as well as her exceptional patience, caring and concern for their own development. “For as long as anyone can remember, Hanna has made incredible designers who craft meticulously and brilliantly,” one student noted. Leslie Fontana’s students describe her as embodying the essence of great teaching; she clearly respects their individual initiatives, while using care, kindness and humor to push them to exceed expectations. Meticulously organized with clear and challenging objectives, her classes are known to be as inspirational as her critiques.

Recent recipients of the Frazier Award include Andrew Raftery [Professor of Printmaking], Gwen Strahle [Foundation Studies Critic], Julia Bryan-Wilson, [Assistant Professor of Art + Architectural History], and Jeffrey Hesser, Foundation Studies Critic, 2006; Fritz Drury [Professor of Illustration] and Wendy Seller [RISD ’75, Art + Design Education + Adjunct Faculty, Foundation Studies], 2005; Daniel Cavicchi [Assistant Professor of History, Philosophy + Social Sciences], 2004; Wilbur Yoder [RISD ’62, Architecture + Professor of Architecture], 2003; Kenneth Hunnibell [RISD ’69, Industrial Design/MAE ’72 + Professor of Industrial Design], 2003 (posthumously); Eddie Oates [Associate Professor, Foundation Studies], 2002; and Brice Hobbs [RISD ’60, Illustration + Professor, Foundation Studies], 2001.