Engagement and relevance. When it comes to Ryan Sweeder’s teaching philosophy, those are two of the key elements he emphasizes.
Because of his high level of involvement with his students and his passion for undergraduate education, Sweeder has been named a Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year by the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan.
An associate professor in Michigan State University’s Lyman Briggs College, Sweeder is the fifth MSU faculty member to earn the award since its inception in 2007.
“I am just ecstatic about receiving this award,” said Sweeder, who primarily teaches chemistry. “It’s nice to be recognized for something that you care very deeply about.”
What Sweeder cares deeply about is undergraduate education. He shares that love of learning with his students by making them a part of the process.
“Students need to be responsible and participate in their own teaching,” he said. “A lot of what we do in the classroom is give the students the opportunity to engage. This is done through working on in-class problems, peer-to-peer learning and making chemistry relevant.”
Relevance also is key to Sweeder’s teaching philosophy. It’s important that students know why what they’re learning matters. He credits a high school chemistry teacher for imparting that lesson on him.
“He helped me see why this mattered and why I should care about it,” he said. “It went a long way in instilling that respect and understanding of chemistry and why it mattered.”
“Ryan Sweeder is a driven promoter of undergraduate learning who combines his STEM education research with his primary mission as a teacher,” said Elizabeth Simmons, dean of the Lyman Briggs College. “He is widely known for his passion for teaching, his efforts to create a diverse and active learning environment in all his classes, his scholarly approach to teaching and his skill at winning grants to provide student scholarships and support research on interdisciplinary education.”
Sweeder has been an MSU faculty member since 2005. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Albion College and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
The Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year program pays tribute to outstanding contributions made by the faculty from Michigan's public universities.
Other MSU recipients of the award are Erik Goodman, professor of electrical and computer engineering (2009); Marcia Aldrich, professor of English (2010); Robert LaDuca, professor and associate dean in Lyman Briggs College and the College of Natural Science (2011); and Robert Roznowski, associate professor of theater (2012).