Dodson, Frazier and Foeller Receive Emeritus Status
Jul 23, 2014Retired Rockingham Community College professors Nathan Lee Dodson and C. Michael Frazier and were recently honored at the college as professor emeritus. In addition, Robert J. Foeller received the rank Dean of Library Services Emeritus as a posthumous honor. The ceremony was held during the July 15, Board of Trustee meeting.
Dodson began teaching at RCC in 1977. Since his arrival, student evaluations from his classes in religion, philosophy, sociology, ethics and anthropology always included praise for his extensive knowledge of the disciplines, passion for teaching, and concern for students. One of the first instructors to bring technology into the classroom, Dodson began teaching telecourses and eagerly offered classroom instruction using Blackboard and Moodle applications. Earlier this year, Professor Dodson was honored with the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the North Carolina Sociological Association where he served on the Executive Council since the 1980s. While serving the larger academic community, Dodson was very busy serving the college and its students. As editor of The Rock, RCC’s student newspaper, he recorded campus history and disseminated information in monthly editions of the paper until his retirement in 2013. His service included the college’s Technologies and Distance Education Committees, advising the Musician’s Guild and performing as part of the college’s musical group, Campus Tradition. Professor Dodson was awarded the rank of Professor in 1996 and served as the chair of the Faculty Rank Committee from that time until his retirement. As a founding member of the North Carolina Community College Faculty Association, Dodson’s leadership gave faculty a political voice and provided professional development opportunities.
Frazier began his career at RCC in 1987 as the lead instructor of the Electrical Installation and Maintenance program. Through the ensuing 26 years he served in many capacities that ranged from instructor, program coordinator, interim dean and division dean. In every capacity in which he served, Mr. Frazier was always working to keep his courses and equipment as cutting edge as possible so that he could make his students as marketable as possible. Professor Frazier served on numerous statewide committees including those for curriculum design and improvement. His service on RCC committees and task forces was extensive and included his work on the curriculum creation, curriculum development, approval and implementation of RCC’s Brewing, Distillation and Fermentation Program, the first of its kind in the country. He was among the first instructors at RCC to utilize virtual labs and simulators. Outside of the classroom, he was very involved with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service—ARES—which is a corps of trained amateur radio operator volunteers organized to assist with public service and emergency communications.
Foeller is the first RCC staff member to whom the Board of Trustees has granted the title Emeritus. He came to RCC in September 1966 as a history professor. After four years of teaching Foeller left RCC to earn his Masters in Library Science and he returned here to serve as the college’s librarian. In 1980 he was appointed Director of Learning Resources and it was during this time that he instituted many changes in the library including building renovations and introducing technology. In letters of support for granting Mr. Foeller emeritus status, both former RCC Executive Vice President Dr. William Knight and Professor Phil Conte speak of the accolades members of the 1983 and 1993 visiting accreditation teams from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools gave the RCC library for its technological innovations, welcoming atmosphere, and community outreach—all direct results of Mr. Foeller’s efforts. He worked with his counterparts at the state level to create the interlibrary loan system among the North Carolina’s community colleges. He led the effort to open RCC’s library to Rockingham County residents so that they might have access to the library’s many resources. Jeff Foeller, son of Mr. Foeller, accepted on his behalf the title of Dean of Library Services Emeritus.
