UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN River Falls
The highest award at UW-River Falls, that of its Distinguished Teacher, has been awarded to psychology Professor Bradley Caskey for 1997.
Caskey received special acknowledgment at the Spring Commencement Ceremony on May 18 from Provost & Vice Chancellor Robert Milam.
Caskey becomes the 34th recipient of the most prestigious award presented by the University to recognize excellence in fulfilling UWRF's primary mission of undergraduate education.
Selection for the award is through polling of graduating seniors and recent graduates. Caskey will be invited to deliver the Fall Commencement address. "As an alumnus of UW-River Falls, it makes this announcement even more special," said the Milam.
"Dr. Caskey joins a select group of past recipients of the highest honor the University bestows on its faculty. This is a special group of caring, talented and very committed professionals.
"The responses received from individuals making nominations contain wonderful descriptors of Dr. Caskey's influence on their lives and educational experiences."
One graduate noted of Caskey that he is "the best teacher I have ever had. He always makes himself available to meet students' needs."
Another recent graduate commented: "He is very excited about his topic and makes his classes informative and enjoyable. He made learning fun." A graduating senior added: "He is enthusiastic, sincere, genuine, fair, entertaining and a great professor."
Another member of the class of 1977 added: "He is an awesome professor who teaches with a real enthusiasm for his profession and his students."
Caskey has been a member of the faculty since 1990, teaching courses in general psychology, child and adolescent development, adulthood and aging, psychology of sex differences, research methods, cognitive and physical development, social and personality development, and sociology of later life.
He is a frequent presenter at conferences, authoring papers on such topics as student evaluations of college teachers, distance learning techniques, the influences of the speed of processing on reading, the visual memory of mentally retarded children, and Alzheimer's Disease.
Caskey also speaks widely, sharing his expertise with many regional volunteer agencies and groups. His topics have covered such areas as parenting; death, dying and bereavement; moral development and moral education; attention deficit disorder; and bonding, attachment and corrections issues.
In addition to his many teaching, research and public service activities, Caskey has served as campus adviser to the Psychology Society and to Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity. He has chaired the UWRF Curriculum Committee, the Computer Guidance Committee, the Ad Hoc Library Reorganization Committee, and the Library Committee.
Caskey was previously recognized in 1995 as the Outstanding Teacher in Social and Behavioral Sciences for the College of Arts & Sciences.
Before coming to UWRF, he taught at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., and at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.
His master's and doctorate are in developmental psychology from Purdue University, and his bachelor's degree is in psychology and secondary education from UW-River Falls.