{"id":15960,"date":"2020-04-30T14:13:56","date_gmt":"2020-04-30T19:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/?p=15960"},"modified":"2020-09-29T15:32:01","modified_gmt":"2020-09-29T20:32:01","slug":"puttin-on-the-fritz-two-named-chester-fritz-distinguished-professors-at-und","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2020\/04\/puttin-on-the-fritz-two-named-chester-fritz-distinguished-professors-at-und\/","title":{"rendered":"Puttin’ on the Fritz: Two named Chester Fritz Distinguished Professors at UND\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Presidents Wynne and Armacost popped up during Zoom meetings to surprise Michelle M. Sauer and Sean Valentine with the news<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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Michelle Sauer and Sean Valentine are 2020’s Chester Fritz Distinguished Professors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI definitely feel like I should have dressed up more,\u201d said Michelle M. Sauer<\/a>, UND\u2019s newest Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor, and the crowd on the Zoom videoconference call with her laughed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Among those boasting the broadest smiles on Wednesday were UND Interim President Joshua Wynne<\/a> and Incoming President Andy Armacost. They, along with the University\u2019s provost, senior vice provost, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and Sauer\u2019s colleagues in the English department, had surprised Sauer by showing up in the Zoom meeting to name her a Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor, an honor that lasts for all time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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During a separate Zoom videoconference call a half-hour earlier, the same honor was bestowed upon an equally astonished Sean Valentine<\/a>, professor of management in the Nistler College of Business & Public Administration at UND.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m ecstatic and very excited,\u201d the now-Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor Valentine said. And surprised, especially when the Zoom squares for the supposedly routine meeting started popping up with the likes of Wynne, Armacost and Senior Vice Provost Debbie Storrs<\/a>: \u201cI have to admit, I was not aware that this was going to happen at all.,\u201d Valentine said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThey kept the secret very, very well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Highest academic honor\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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The Chester Fritz Distinguished Professorship<\/a> is UND\u2019s highest academic honor. The award was established with an endowment gift from the late University benefactor Chester Fritz (1892-1983).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Revenue from that endowment provides for a $2,000 stipend to full-time faculty recipients, who thereafter may use the title \u201cChester Fritz Distinguished Professor.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Chester Fritz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And traditionally, the honoree is surprised in the classroom or a departmental meeting by the president, provost and other leaders stepping through the door, ready to make the announcement. It wasn\u2019t possible to pay such a visit on campus this year, but surprising this year\u2019s honorees in Zoom conference call meetings worked just as well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe are so thrilled to be here to publicly honor you and to remind you that this honor carries with it the responsibility to continue to lead, serve and contribute to One UND,\u201d Wynne said in presenting the awards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cAnd although we are unable to present the honor to you in person at this time, we would like to take a moment to thank you for your extraordinary contributions and commitment to UND. \u2026 Now, more than ever, we need our Chester Fritz Distinguished Professors to help lead the university into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As soon as UND reconvenes on campus and students start returning to traditional classrooms, the University will honor Sauer and Valentine in person at an appropriate ceremony, Wynne said.<\/p>\n

The following video was captured from Valentine’s surprise meeting:<\/em><\/p>\n