Whether it was in elementary, middle or high school, we have all been influenced by a teacher or mentor at least once in our lifetime. Every year, Elizabethtown College recognizes an influential professor who is devoted to teaching and mentoring with the Kreider Prize for Teaching Excellence.

Professor of physics and engineering Dr. Kurt DeGoede received the 2017-2018 Kreider Prize for Teaching Excellence for his inventive teaching style and for mentoring students in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Etown’s cross country teams, Cycling Club and many other environments.

The Professional Development Committee and two students chose DeGoede based on nominations from Etown students, faculty and staff members and alumni, according to the College’s website.

Senior Audrey Shultz has taken multiple classes taught by DeGoede and was one of the students who nominated him for the award.

“I think that he is an amazing and caring professor,” Shultz said. “He puts as much into his work as his students.”

“He’s very knowledgeable and cares about his students,” said junior Annie Novy, who took Dynamics with DeGoede.

“He’ll take the time to explain things to his students, even if it takes 50 times,” Shultz added.

Current students were not the only ones with positive things to say about DeGoede. Alumni also appreciated his teaching style and dedication to students.

“His classes were hard but respected because he makes it clear what he wants and makes himself available,” Mary Stoltzfus ’18 said. According to Stoltzfus, DeGoede always made his expectations clear in his syllabi and when speaking in class.

Ironically, DeGoede said he did not always want to be a professor. After he earned his Bachelor of Science from Hope College and his Master of Science from Case Western Reserve University, he worked at Ford Motor Company as a project manager for three years.

Then, he completed his Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan and became a professor. He has been teaching at the College for 18 years.

DeGoede remembered a professor at Case Western telling him to go back to school if he was unhappy working in the industry.

“I wasn’t unhappy, but I didn’t feel fulfilled [working at Ford],” DeGoede said. “I couldn’t get excited.”

However, DeGoede appeared excited when he spoke about his favorite part of teaching, which he said is “time spent with the students.”

He used more hand gestures and showed more enthusiasm when he spoke about working with his students than when he spoke about his education and career.

“The best days are when I go into the office, and it’s quiet. I get some work done, and then students start coming in, and they come in and out all day,” DeGoede said. “I’ll have this big to-do list and get none of it done. Those are fun days. Those days are mini vacations.”

This enthusiasm continued as DeGoede delivered the 2018 Annual Kreider Lecture, titled “Still Learning: continuous improvement in engineering and teaching.” The lecture took place Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. in the Susquehanna Room of Myer Residence Hall.

Throughout the lecture, DeGoede moved around and spoke loudly enough to be heard without a microphone.

He also interacted with the audience members. For example, he asked senior Joshua Fishman what the name of his research project was, and he checked with associate professor of engineering and physics and Department Chair Dr. Sara Atwood to see if engineering students still did one of projects he mentioned in the presentation.

DeGoede’s presentation started with and centered around Bill Koen’s definition of engineering as “the use of heuristics to cause the best change in a poorly understood situation within the available resources.”

He described it as making the best change with limited resources. DeGoede also applied this definition and method to teaching and life in general.

Over the course of the lecture, DeGoede shared stories that demonstrated his commitment to teaching and mentoring. One story was about running and the cross country teams.

In 2011, DeGoede started mentoring the women’s cross country team, and he now mentors both teams.

In 2013, he trained for the Boston Marathon, and he said running with students allowed them time to talk about things like applying to graduate school, roommate problems, etc.

“It’s been great getting to know students, many of which aren’t in engineering,” DeGoede said.

DeGoede also told the audience about his experience as a visiting professor at the University of The Gambia.

He said it taught him how to be flexible and adaptable as he did not know what he was teaching until he arrived.

He helped students install solar panels on the university’s roof and learned alongside them, as his concentration is biomechanics and not solar panels.

He said this experience also allows him to bring a unique perspective to his Etown courses.

DeGoede also talked about the competency-based grading style he implements in his courses.

Instead of learning a skill and moving on whether students have mastered it or not, students must first demonstrate mastery of introductory skills before moving on to others.

He said he adopted this style because he wanted his students to focus on understanding instead of getting the right answers.

During the question-and-answer session that followed the lecture, DeGoede said his favorite class is Dynamics, although he also has enjoyed all his classes inside and outside the Engineering Department.

“It is no surprise that he’s such a dynamic instructor, and his favorite class is Dynamics,” Dean for Academic Affairs and Faculty Development Kristi Kneas said at the end of the lecture.