Richard Cassady Named as New Co-Director of the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center

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The Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center and the Office of Faculty Affairs are pleased to announce that Richard Cassady has accepted a three-year term as TFSC co-director. Cassady will join the center in August and will be responsible for coordinating the center's events and programs along with co-directors Lynn Meade and Carole Shook. He will serve a three-year term replacing Don Johnson who is completing his service as co-director.

According to Cassady, "I will strive to do my part in maintaining the outstanding programs and support that TFSC has provided to our faculty for so many years. I am excited about improving my own teaching through direct involvement in the planning and execution of TFSC activities. I appreciate the confidence that the current co-directors have shown in me and hope that I can offer some new ideas to grow and sustain the role of TFSC on our campus. If anyone has any ideas or questions for TFSC, please contact me or one of the other co-directors."

Cassady is a three-time graduate (B.S. summa cum laude, M.S., Ph.D.) from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. He is University Professor of Industrial Engineering, and he has served on the U of A faculty since 2000. He has developed and instructed courses at all undergraduate levels and graduate levels, has coordinated the capstone experience in the Department of Industrial Engineering for six years and has chaired the Department of Industrial Engineering's Undergraduate Studies Committee for almost 10 years. He has served as the director of the First-Year Engineering Program since its inception in 2007.

His teaching awards include the 2005 College of Engineering Imhoff Outstanding Teacher Award, election in 2006 as Fellow of the U of A Teaching Academy, the 2006 Charles and Nadine Baum Faculty Teaching Award and the 2016 Holzman Distinguished Educator Award from the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers. 

Continuing co-directors Meade and Shook and HEI Program Coordinator Lori Libbert are pleased to welcome Cassady to the TFSC team. According to Meade, "Dr. Cassady has a long history of teaching excellence, a proven record of inclusiveness and a drive to help educators master their craft so students can meet their potential. We are excited about the new ideas that he brings to the team."

Established in 1992, the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center serves as an interactive resource for faculty to enhance teaching and learning. Events coordinated by the center include the Faculty Lunch Series, Faculty Enrichment Series, Winter Teaching Symposium and Teaching Camp. 

For more about the TFSC and its programs go to Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center | Teaching and Faculty Support Center | University of Arkansas (uark.edu).