Dublin, Ohio — We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jeffrey Froyd on October 5, 2022.
Before becoming a prominent figure in the engineering education field, Froyd earned a B.S. in Mathematics from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from University of Minnesota. He went on to hold positions at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Texas A&M University. Froyd was a professor and chair of the Department of Engineering Education at The Ohio State University before his passing.
Froyd started working with ABET in 1999 as a Program Evaluator, also serving as a report Team Chair and a visit Team Chair over the years. He also served on the Engineering Accreditation Commission as a commission member and member-at-large. In addition, Froyd was a member of the ABET EAC Training Committee as well as the Accreditation Council Training Committee.
In addition to his commitments to ABET, Froyd was a Fellow of IEEE and the American Society for Engineering Education. He served as the editor-in-chief of the IEEE Transactions on Education for several years. At ASEE, Froyd served three times as a program co-chair for the Frontiers in Education Conference as well as the general chair for the conference in 2009. He also reviewed papers and abstracts for the ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition.
We are very grateful to Jeff Froyd and his dedication to ABET and the engineering education field. He will be greatly missed. Read his obituary here.
“I am deeply saddened by Jeff Froyd’s passing.
Leonard Bohmann
I will miss his dry wit. It always made me smile. I will miss his keen insights into so many aspects of engineering education. They always made me think. I will miss the energy he brought into the room with him. It lifted his colleagues up, easing the task at hand.
I hope his family finds solace in the many lives he has had such a positive impact on.”
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Michigan Technological University
“I first met Jeff in November 2013 when he was a member of the IEEE Educational Activities Curriculum and Pedagogy Committee. It was a day-long strategic planning session in Newark to re-imagine IEEE’s educational programs and services, with raindrops interspersed with sunshine. Jeff’s warmth, candor, insightful thinking, and dry wit were things that I remember to this day.
Jeff’s contributions are timeless and numerous — from workshops on faculty development, curriculum redesign and assessment, to his leadership role as the Project Director on NSF’s Foundation Coalition and their seminal work to restructure curriculum in the early years of the engineering curriculum to improve the quality of engineering graduates, his service as Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Education, and as Senior Associate Editor for the Journal of Engineering Education — among so many other causes that were near and dear to him.
Over the years, we had numerous opportunities to work together in ABET, IEEE’s Committee for Engineering Accreditation Activities (CEAA) and the IEEE Frontiers in Education conference. Among the many memorable moments is one from the 2015 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference in El Paso when he was recognized with the IEEE Education Society’s Distinguished Member Award. Jeff’s unwavering commitment to engineering education and accreditation is his legacy to our profession. Jeff was a Fellow of IEEE and ASEE.
Alas, life is so fragile. Jeff’s passing is a huge loss to our community. An amazing scholar, a teacher’s teacher and, above all, a wonderful human being. My thoughts and prayers are with Jeff’s loving family and countless friends and colleagues.”
S.K. Ramesh
President, ABET
Director and Lead Principal Investigator, AIMS2 Program
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
College of Engineering and Computer Science
California State University, Northridge
“Jeff and I shared the experience of being electrical engineering professors who cared deeply about teaching and learning and researching engineering education. We met often at engineering education conferences and collaborated several times including serving on an IEEE Curriculum and Pedagogy Committee chaired by Matt Ohland from Purdue and the Editorial Board of the IEEE Transactions on Education (ToE).
Jeff was innovative and creative and always brought his analytical engineering mindset to everything. He would ask tough questions that could be intimidating but cut right to the heart of the topics. His questions would make your work better and he was always willing to sit and talk with you and help you think through your arguments to have greater impact. He enhanced the quality of the ToE immensely through his leadership. He was a mentor to many including me. I particularly appreciate his support of my applications for awards including Fellow of ASEE and IEEE.
Jeff Froyd was a true pioneer and leader in engineering education. We lost him too soon. I will miss seeing him at our conferences and his insights for our community. My deepest condolences to his family.”
Susan M. Lord, Ph.D., IEEE and ASEE Fellow
Professor and Chair of Integrated Engineering
University of San Diego