Faculty Hall of Fame: Dr. Alfred Frederick

Dr. Alfred (Al) Frederick, a Distinguished Service Professor, left a global impact on the world of education through his cross-cultural pedagogy and multicultural teaching. He died July 29, 2023, at the age of 85. The campus community celebrated his life on Dec. 1, with a cultural extravaganza featuring African drumming, R&B and Gospel singing, poetry readings, Caribbean Student Association Dance Team performances and personal reflections.

The six-time Fulbright scholar came to SUNY Oswego in 1985 and shared his passion for teaching with the world both far and near — honored within the Oswego community and in Syracuse, as well as in Benin and Brazil for his tremendous impact in those nations.

A member of the university’s curriculum and instruction faculty, Dr. Frederick made cross-cultural communication, understanding and education his passion and life’s work. He developed the first multicultural education and culturally relevant teaching courses at SUNY Oswego, and focused on how to deliver cross-cultural education in meaningful and relevant ways that resonated with the object learning method that the university’s founder Edward Austin Sheldon helped make famous.

“Culturally relevant education is using the knowledge base of your students, having examples to bring a level of understanding to the students,” wherever in the world you might be teaching, Frederick said in a 2020 news article. Using students’ knowledge base in the planning and teaching process automatically enhances their self-image, self-esteem, level of motivation, classroom performance and academic achievement.

In January 2020, the African nation of Benin honored Dr. Frederick for his more than two decades of service with praise from education officials, support from many friends and former students, and general recognition of the contributions in educational publications and in schools the Oswego professor provided since his first Benin visit in 2000. Dr. Frederick’s overarching leadership of our institution’s relationships in Benin led to the first-ever SUNY Oswego education abroad program to Africa, starting in January 2008.

In 2017, Dr. Frederick earned the title of Citizen of the State of Piauí, an award bestowed by the northeastern Brazilian state’s Legislative Assembly for his more than 25 years working to improve education in the state of Piauí and elsewhere in Brazil.

Fluent in English, French and Portuguese, Dr. Frederick published numerous works on multicultural education, including his books, Curriculum and the Social-Cultural Context and Bridging the Gap Between Home and School: A Paradigm for Monitoring, Assessing and Improving the Schooling Process for Culturally Diverse Student Populations.

Colleagues recall him as a friendly and engaging man who was passionate about creating a campus that valued and practiced culturally relevant teaching while providing immersive cultural opportunities in diverse communities. He would bring in world-renowned teaching experts and broad perspectives while seeking to build bridges and greater understanding. He provided new perspectives and connections that opened students’ eyes, minds and hearts.

The International Center of Syracuse presented him its 2015 Outstanding International Educator Award for, among other things, his ongoing efforts to connect SUNY Oswego students with cultural and other activities in the community. He also earned a Syracuse Post-Standard Achievement Award in 2009 for these activities.

Dr. Frederick always credited his mother, Sallie Frederick, who moved with him from her job in the cotton fields to the small city of Opelika, Alabama, when he was 2, for insisting he obtain a college education and for his quest for intercultural understanding.

After becoming his high school valedictorian, Dr. Frederick earned a bachelor’s degree at Northern Illinois University, a master’s degree at Columbia University and a doctorate at the University of Brussels, and he completed postdoctoral work at Harvard University.

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