Emeritus Professor Richard Felder Wins the William C. Friday Award

Congratulations to Emeritus Professor Richard Felder for receiving the Association of Retired Faculty’s William C. Friday Award!

The Association of Retired Faculty (ARF) was founded in 1983 and is composed of retired NC State faculty and EHRA professional staff. The association’s purpose is to promote the welfare of the University, its retired faculty, and society as a whole. 

The William C. Friday Award for Distinguished Service in Retirement recognizes retirees’ outstanding contributions and service to the community in retirement. The award is named after William C. Friday, former president of the University of North Carolina system, who continued to serve his community following his retirement. 

Dr. Richard Felder, Hoechst Celanese Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering, served as a distinguished professor from 1969-1999. During his thirty years of service to the University, Dr. Felder published 63 engineering-related papers, 73 education-related papers, and one patent.

Dr. Felder is not only well known for co-authoring the best-selling chemical engineering textbook, Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes, but he is also widely recognized for his commitment to excellence in teaching and his dedication and passion for learning. 

After retiring in 1999 to an emeritus position, Dr. Felder has continued to serve by pursuing his love for educational research. Since 2000, he and his wife have presented at hundreds of seminars and workshops across the world on the topic of effective teaching and learning. They have also helped organize and present at an orientation workshop for new faculty members in the College of Engineering. 

In his retirement, Dr. Felder has also published 75 refereed journal articles and proceedings/papers and 65 “Random Thoughts” columns in Chemical Engineering Education. 

Because of his immense impact on the University through faculty development and research on effective teaching, his influence and legacy have continued to grow throughout his retirement. In tribute to all that he has done, Dr. Felder’s former students and colleagues recently established the Richard M. Felder Excellence in Teaching Award. 

Dr. Felder not only made an impact within his thirty years as a distinguished professor but has continued to do so in the last twenty-three years of his retirement. 

Congratulations Dr. Felder on receiving the William C. Friday Award, and and thank you for your dedication to the cause of improving the effectiveness of education across all disciplines!