Fall 2018 Robert L. Bailey Teaching Award Recipients Announced

Contact:

Sherry Mercurio
Executive Director, Office of Community Relations
(614) 947-6581
Email: sherry.mercurio@franklin.edu

Franklin University, one of the leading educators of working adults in central Ohio, celebrated its 160th Commencement on Sunday, Jan. 6. Along with honoring the graduates, Franklin recognized Annette Hoelzer, and Dr. David Meckstroth, from its faculty as recipients of the distinguished Robert L. Bailey Teaching Award.

Congratulations to this trimester’s recipients: Annette Hoelzer, undergraduate faculty and Dr. David Meckstroth, graduate faculty.

Annette Hoelzer
For the past five years, Annette Hoelzer has taught various tax courses including Tax Planning for Financial Planners in Franklin University’s Accounting program. A tax accountant with 33 years of experience with an accounting firm, Hoelzer initially launched her career as a band director within a public school district. She later earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting at the University of Akron and a Master in Taxation degree from Capital University. Professor Hoelzer’s passion for teaching is evident in the various methods she uses to inspire students to learn what can be a very complex area of accounting. This reaches beyond the regular classroom to one-on-one sessions with students, separate exam study sessions and even games. She brings the topic to life by sharing real-life examples from her career.

Student Nomination: “Professor Hoelzer is very dedicated to her profession and has a true passion for teaching! She took a challenging class and broke it down to help students understand it. No matter how many times she would go over something, she would not move on until everyone understood the material. She was always available and wanted to see her students thrive and succeed. She was a true inspiration to me.”

Dr. David Meckstroth
Dr. David Meckstroth is a consultant with more than 40 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Over the course of his career, he has worked through several mergers, a major consolidation to a new hospital, and an affiliation of a healthcare system into a larger system. For 14 years, he was the president and CEO at Upper Valley Medical Center in Troy, Ohio. Meckstroth is a fellow in the Healthcare Financial Management Association, served on the board of directors for the Ohio Hospital Association and was the board chair for the Greater Dayton Hospital Association. He has a doctorate in health administration from Central Michigan University, an MBA from the University of Dayton and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bowling Green State University. Dr. Meckstroth is married and has two grown children.

Student Nomination: “Dr. Meckstroth was an outstanding professor who challenged me, made me work harder and helped me get to the next level in my healthcare studies. He consistently provided valuable feedback on assignments that helped me rethink my work so that I could make improvements going into the next section of the course. He was extremely helpful and was always very timely with his responses.”
 

About the Robert L. Bailey Teaching Award
Each trimester, two faculty members are honored with the Robert L. Bailey Teaching Award. Graduating students are asked to identify one undergraduate and one graduate faculty member who had the most significant influence on them throughout their educational experience at Franklin University. The award recognizes those who have challenged students intellectually and guided them in finding the significance of the course content as it relates to them both personally and professionally.

While more than 100 graduate and undergraduate faculty members are nominated each trimester – clearly showing the magnitude of interaction between students and faculty at Franklin University – the faculty members receiving the most nominations are awarded this honor.

These awards are funded through an endowment established by State Auto Insurance Companies in recognition of Robert L. Bailey, who served State Auto for 28 years in various positions, including President, CEO, and Chairman, until his retirement in 2000. Bailey is also a past Chair and a Trustee Emeritus of Franklin University’s Board of Trustees.

About Franklin University

Accredited, nonprofit, and dedicated to educating adults since 1902, Franklin provides onsite course options at our Main Campus in downtown Columbus, Ohio, and is an innovator in providing personalized online education. The University offers applied in-demand undergraduate, masters, and doctorate programs that enable adult learners to achieve their educational and professional goals. Through agreements with partner institutions, the University also offers international academic programs, including its top-ranked MBA.

Franklin University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and holds specialized accreditations for specific academic programs through the International Accreditation Council for Business Education, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, and the Commission on Accreditation of Health Informatics and Information Management Education. The National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security have designated Franklin University as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE).