Fred Willman, Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor of Music and Education at UMSL, will be inducted Jan. 27 into the Missouri Music Educators Association Hall of Fame.
Fred Willman has influenced music education and music educators for almost half a century. A recipient of many honors over a long and distinguished career the Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor of Music and Education at the University of Missouri–St. Louis will add yet another achievement on Jan. 27 when he is inducted into the Missouri Music Educators Association Hall of Fame.
Willman’s colleagues applauded his impending induction as recognition well deserved.
“Dr. Fred Willman’s half century of extraordinary work in music education — nearly four decades at UMSL — have resulted in continued high praise from K-12 music teachers throughout Missouri and across the nation,” said Robert W. Nordman, chair of the music department at UMSL and an MMEA Hall of Fame member himself. “Among these teachers are those who earned their BME or MME at UMSL and were among Fred’s students, as well as hundreds of others who learned from Fred’s many presentations at professional conferences.”
Nordman said that Willman’s induction into the MMEA Hall of Fame follows a number of other accomplishments, including the UM System’s President’s Award for Outstanding Teaching, the Governor’s Award for Teaching Excellence, and the Missouri Curators’ Distinguished Professor title.
“Fred has been a ‘Hall of Famer’ for a long while — now it is official.”
A resident of the La Salle Park neighborhood in St. Louis, Willman joined UMSL’s music faculty in 1977. He is currently coordinator of music education, director of graduate studies in music and coordinator of music technology.
As a member of the faculty at the University of North Dakota, Willman conducted teacher-training programs with Native Americans. Recognized for his innovative curriculums for elementary and middle school general music methods courses, his publications include journal articles, two solely authored books, nine jointly authored textbooks, choral music and computer software. Prior to that, he taught general and choral music in the Iowa public schools.
Willman received a bachelor’s degree in music education from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, a master’s degree in music education from the University of Colorado in Boulder, and a doctorate in teacher education from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. He has served on two national music task forces and is a member of several professional organizations. He is frequently engaged as a presenter at national, regional, state and local music conferences and has served as a resource consultant and clinician for many school districts in the Midwest.
Willman described being inducted into the MMEA Hall of Fame as “a real honor.”
“I feel very honored that my colleagues, not just here on campus but across the state, feel that I am deserving of this recognition,” he said.
Willman’s induction will take place Jan. 27 at Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach, Missouri. He will become UMSL’s fourth faculty member to receive this honor, along with Nordman, Aurelia Hartenberger and Douglas Turpin (emeritus).
