[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Pages 24248-24249]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                 CONGRATULATING DR. RHONA CAMPBELL FREE

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, today, congratulate Dr. Rhona 
Campbell Free, an economics professor at Eastern Connecticut State 
University. Yesterday, Dr. Free was honored by the Council for 
Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for 
the Advancement of Teaching as one of four recipients of the U.S. 
Professors of the Year Award. I would like to congratulate Dr. Free, as 
well as Dr. Douglas Cooper, a professor of chemical engineering at the 
University of Connecticut, the winner of the Professor of the Year 
award for the State of Connecticut.
  This award is the only national honor that specifically recognizes 
excellence in teaching and mentoring at the undergraduate level. Over 
300 nominees for the award were evaluated on their impact and 
involvement with students, their scholarly approach to teaching, their 
contributions to undergraduate education, and support from their 
colleagues and students.
  Dr. Free, who received her doctorate from the University of Notre 
Dame, has taught economics at ECSU since 1983. During that time, she 
has distinguished herself among her peers through her commitment to her 
students and to teaching. She helped found the Connecticut Consortium 
for Learning and Teaching, a statewide organization devoted to 
promoting excellence in teaching. She is also a member

[[Page 24249]]

of the Connecticut Campus Compact, which focuses on service learning.
  Dr. Free's students know her as a professor who brings ideas from 
different academic fields into her classroom, and who creates new and 
innovative courses such as Economics of Professional Sports. She has 
also devoted her time and energy to improve academic advising and 
freshman orientation at ECSU. Her methods, techniques, and enthusiasm 
have won praise from fellow professors and students alike. In 2001, she 
was awarded the university's Distinguished Faculty Award.
  Dr. Rhona Free is truly an inspiration, not only to students and 
teachers, but to all of us who strive to make this country a better 
place for our children and grandchildren. In a demanding profession, 
she has gone above and beyond her duties and responsibilities to truly 
make a difference in the lives of not only her own students, but 
students and professors throughout the State of Connecticut. I 
congratulate her on her accomplishments, and I wish her continued 
success in the years to come.

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