The Daily Campus

Issue date: 3/21/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Dan Kwan

To many at UConn he is a professor. Others would call him a student. He is also a mentor, a friend and a campus celebrity.

Richard F. Kochanek - known to everyone as Dick - is typically known by students for teaching the two mass sections of accounting 131 each semester, which gives him around 1,200 students a year. During his 34 years at UConn he has taught thousands of students, but his career has gone far beyond that of a normal professor.

He has served as the associate dean for Academic Programs in the School of Business and was the head of the Accounting Department. He's published accounting textbooks and articles and has received an array of teaching awards.

What's more, Kochanek doesn't just teach the average material in his classes, he delivers inspiration to his students and promotes life long learning.

"Dick didn't only change how I felt about business, but he also had a really positive impact on my outlook of the bigger picture," said Eric Gaudet, an 8th-semester marketing major.

For many, it's Kochanek's spirit that makes his class unique.

"I never knew what to expect when I went to Dick's class," said Jackie Oldham, a 4th-semester health care management major. "His stories about life were always funny and made going to class fun."

But Kochanek's impact hasn't only been on students. Many teachers across campus have also learned from him and have been inspired by his approach.

"The care and concern that Dick extends from the front of the classroom to every student who is listening to him is genuine and truly heartfelt," said Larry Gramling, an assistant professor of accounting.

"Dick was truly an inspiration to me," said Gramling, who once sat in on one of Kochanek's large lectures while preparing to teach his own. "Although at the time I had been teaching for nearly 20 years, I learned so much from Dick about truly engaging students in such a large section."

Up until 2003, Kochanek had spent his entire UConn career as a faculty member, but his passion for art finally caught up with him and he has since added a new title to his name - student.

Kochanek's humble fourth floor office in the School of Business building is a cluttered testament to his busy life. He has a coffee maker, a lonely plant by the window, art decorating the walls and boxes of handouts and bubble sheets piled on the floor.

Kochanek skips past some classical music on his automatic record player which holds multiple records at a time.

Continued...

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