University Award for Excellence in Teaching
Fred Sturm, 2005
"Fred Sturm, prodigal son, you graduated from Lawrence in 1973, returned in 1977 as a member of the faculty, allowed yourself to be 'wooed' away by your other alma mater, the Eastman School of Music, in 1991, and, fortunately, saw the error of your ways two years ago and returned to Lawrence as professor of music and director of your beloved jazz and improvisational music. You have been credited, along with your friend John Harmon, with creating jazz studies at Lawrence, directing the college’s first student-designed jazz ensemble as a 19-year-old sophomore. You were presented with the Young Teacher Award in 1983 and the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Achievement Award in 1989.
Your jazz ensembles, both at Lawrence and Eastman, have received national recognition for outstanding performance from Downbeat magazine. Your jazz composition and arranging students, following in their mentor’s footsteps, are also national award winners. Your own compositions and arrangements are acclaimed worldwide, having been recorded on Concord Jazz, RCA, and Warner Brothers and performed by Gene Bertoncini, Bob Brookmeyer, Wycliffe Gordon, Wynton Marsalis, Bobby McFerrin, Dianne Reeves, Clark Terry, and Phil Woods.
Most recently, you earned the 2003 ASCAP/IAJE Commission in Honor of Quincy Jones for Established Jazz Composers of International Prominence presented by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers in cooperation with the International Association of Jazz Educators. Perhaps more interesting to the generation of parents gathered here today, you were the arranger/conductor for the summer 2003 German recording project titled 'Bodacious Cowboys: 3 Decades of Steely Dan.'
Fred, for these accomplishments and your enduring dedication to jazz education at Lawrence and worldwide, we are pleased to honor you today with the 2005 Award for Excellent Teaching."