Alumni - Frederick D. Hill Archives - University of Indianapolis

26
PORTiCO WinTeR 2007
schaad is serious
about playing with clay
Sporting jeans and T-shirt, paint-splattered boots,
and his famous mustache and bald head, Dee Schaad
definitely stands out in a crowd. His humble teaching
methods, unorthodox appearance, and national
recognition have made him popular among both
his students and colleagues for more than 31 years.
“What makes him different from other professors
is he’s been doing art for so long and he loves it so much
that he gets really excited about what he’s teaching,”
said senior ceramics major Lauren Ditchley.
“Dee Schaad is very entertaining, but he is also
very serious about his profession. He’s a high-energy
person and very intelligent,” said Assistant Professor
of Art and Design Julia Taugner.
Schaad serves as chair of the Department of Art
and Design at the University of Indianapolis. Besides
his involvement on campus, Schaad is on the Board of
Directors of the National Council on Education of the
Ceramic Arts and played a key role in bringing the
NCECA’s annual convention to Indianapolis in 2005.
Hailing from a small town in Nebraska, Schaad
said he has always been interested in art.
“Since I was a little kid, I was always making
little things out of clay,” Schaad said.
Schaad began attending the University of
Nebraska-Kearny with an undeclared major. At the
time, he was interested in studying either journalism
or history. Schaad took his first art class as a freshman
and soon found himself as an art major.
“My high school didn’t offer art classes. But then
again, I only had 35 students in my graduating class,”
Schaad said.
While at the University of Nebraska, Schaad
took a ceramics class that changed his life forever.
“It wasn’t very easy. I kept telling myself, ‘I can
beat this thing,’” Schaad said.
After graduating, Schaad started his teaching
career in the public school system.
“My mother and father were both teachers, and
they had always told me not to go into teaching,”
Schaad said.
Schaad eventually obtained his master of fine
arts degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
He began teaching at the University of Indianapolis
is the fall of 1975.
Schaad has been featured in many national
galleries, including one in the Smithsonian Institute
in Washington, D.C. Schaad said he gathers
inspiration from many areas.
“I’m interested in a lot of things. Most of what
I do has to do with literature, history, current events,
myths, legends, and the world around me,” Schaad said.
Schaad’s most recent honor was being
named Teacher of the Year for 2005–2006. The
award is presented to the faculty member who
shows excellence in the classroom and superior
performance in individual and group interaction
with students. Each school/college can make at
least one nomination per year. The winner is then
selected by a committee comprising three faculty
members, the president of Indianapolis Student
Government, and the student with the highest
grade point average.
When students were asked to write
recommendation letters in Schaad’s behalf, Ditchley
said she was more than happy to help. “He treats his
students like his own children,” she said. “He has
inspired me to be the best at whatever I do and to
have fun with it.”
Schaad says his teaching strategies are simple.
“I am greatly honored [to be named Teacher
of the Year], but I’m not doing anything different
than I did in the past. I do everything I assign and
I just try to keep a positive attitude in the class,”
Schaad said.
“He is able to take really complicated and
high-level information and make it understandable
and interesting,” Taugner said.
Not only is Schaad a great educator, but he is
also a mentor to his students.
“I like to tell my kids, ‘Knowledge is
accumulative. The more you know, the more
you know,’” Schaad said.
Schaad recently had a ceramics exhibit in
the Ransburg Gallery in Good Hall featuring his
interpretations of Dante’s Inferno. He is also featured
in “Clay Expressions” at the Contemporary Clay
Gallery in Indianapolis.
—Sami Shelton, Reflector Staff Writer.
Used with permission.