Honoring Favorite Teachers
New funds celebrate treasured professors and support the next generation of students
By Francie King | Photo by Jackie Ricciardi/BU Photography
If you had to name the one professor who had the biggest impact on your life, who would you pick? Dan Freeman (CAS’68, GRS’70) has an easy winner: without Ralph B. D’Agostino, a professor of mathematics & statistics, he might never have become a teacher himself—or met his wife.
Dan and Jean Freeman helped establish a fully endowed fund in honor of Professor Ralph B. D’Agostino. Courtesy of Dan Freeman
D’Agostino’s classes were “basically two full semesters of TED talks by one person,” says Freeman. “You wanted to come back every day because he would build the topic from day to day, and it would all hang together.”
In 2011, he and his wife, Jean Freeman (GRS’71), made a gift to BU in D’Agostino’s name; by 2016, they and other donors had helped establish the fully endowed Ralph B. D’Agostino Fellowship. It’s dedicated to supporting a graduate student in math and statistics, with a preference for a candidate in applied sciences. Graduate research support such as this is deeply needed and often tough to find elsewhere.
When Dan Freeman entered the BU master’s program in mathematics after completing his undergraduate work in 1968, he became a teaching assistant for D’Agostino (CAS’62, GRS’64). “It was an opportunity to watch a truly great teacher,” says Freeman. Then, serendipity. A young woman named Jean Louise Otis arrived at BU from Mount Holyoke College to begin master’s studies in statistics. Sitting near each other on the day when the teaching assistant assignments were made, Freeman turned to Jean. “In those days,” he says, “you could pick the professor you wanted to work for. I told Jean I thought she should select Dr. D’Agostino, promising that she’d learn a great deal about teaching.” She did. And pretty soon, the two TAs began dating, fell in love, and eventually married.
D’Agostino encouraged Dan Freeman to continue on to a PhD in biostatistics—he earned a doctorate in 1975 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Jean later earned a doctorate at Yale University and was part of a team that developed a system for medical reimbursements called diagnostic-related groups, the basis for most reimbursements for hospital care around the world. They’ve both taught at Yale, Dartmouth College, and the University of Texas in Galveston, where they now live.
Freeman remembers D’Agostino’s classes filling with ever-increasing numbers of students as the year progressed—despite the daunting subject matter. At the time, the BU social science departments each had their own one-semester, required statistics program. Students were offered a choice: they could take either the one-semester statistics course from their own departments, whether in psychology, sociology, or economics, or they could take the math department’s two-semester statistics course, taught by D’Agostino.
“When he began teaching it, there were 25 students in it,” Freeman says. “By the time Jean and I were TA-ing for him, there were more than 200.”
When the Freemans, who had been making modest gifts to BU over the years, decided to be more deliberate in their giving, Dan Freeman says he “thought back to the things that had meant a lot to me at BU, and immediately Ralph’s name came to mind.”
Word had spread about his knowledge and ability to connect with students. “He presented the material in such a straightforward way, with such directness—and you could feel his love for statistics. That’s the best way to describe it. And the students picked right up on it.
“He didn’t mince words or water anything down. He didn’t tell dumb stories or use tricks. Everyone had to learn the hard material. He just made sure every single student understood what he was saying—and every TA, too.”
When the Freemans, who had been making modest gifts to BU over the years, decided to be more deliberate in their giving, Dan Freeman says he “thought back to the things that had meant a lot to me at BU, and immediately Ralph’s name came to mind. That’s how it started.”
Since they launched the fund, many other former graduate students have joined them in honoring D’Agostino with gifts in his name.
“When former students honor a professor through this kind of moving tribute, they do so much,” says Dean Ann E. Cudd. “Not only do such gifts express the transformative impact an inspiring professor can have on a student’s life, they also represent support for new scholarship from those who have already made that tough slog through graduate school. In a broader sense, named fellowship funds enable BU to compete for the very best graduate students.
“I think a fund like this one is among the most moving and humbling messages a teacher can receive.”
Recognizing Legends
Dan and Jean Freeman are not alone in their commitment to supporting a fund in honor of a respected professor. Several other CAS professors have been celebrated in this way: The Thomas A. Kunz Fund in Biology was initiated by Kunz’s first graduate student, Peter V. August (GRS’81), and BU Department of Biology Chair Mike Sorenson to recognize Kunz’s contributions to BU and support future graduate education in ecology. The Rich Laursen Fund in Chemistry—initiated by former graduate student Luis Ruzo (CAS’70) and honoring Professor Emeritus Laursen’s 43 years in teaching and research at BU—will provide an annual summer research stipend for a graduate or undergraduate student. And the Patricia Hills Fund in History of Art & Architecture, launched by Professor Emerita Hills herself, includes a significant gift from Warren Adelson (CAS’63, GRS’64) and provides graduate fellowships to students enrolled in art history.
Consider making a gift to support these funds—or your own favorite professor. Contact Steve Kean, chief advancement officer, at 617-358-1214 or skean@bu.edu.