Issue date: 12/3/07 Section: Campus News

Media Credit: Abby Harvey Professor William Frankenberger was recently granted a lifetime achievement award for his work on Attention Deficit Disorder.

Psychology professor William Frankenberger said he became a little suspicious when his wife told him she planned to attend the Wisconsin School Psychology Association's luncheon with him.

"That was a little bit out of character for her," he said with a laugh.

It turned out his suspicions were warranted, because during that October luncheon, he received WSPA's highest honor - the Lifetime Achievement Award. As an added bonus, a former student, Scott Moline, presented it.

"That certainly was very touching to have someone I worked closely with present the award," Frankenberger said.

Moline, a psychologist for the Onalaska school district, is also a WSPA board member and said they chose Frankenberger for his strong interest in research and his "genuine enthusiasm for the students he teaches."

He said he's stayed in touch with Frankenberger over the years and considers him a good friend.

"There are only so many teachers that really do make an impact on your life, and he was one of them for me, so it was cool for me to say 'thank you,'" Moline said. "As a former student who always ... looked up to him as a role model, it was personally very rewarding to thank him for all he has done for me, in addition to all he has done for our profession."

Frankenberger began teaching at UW-Eau Claire in 1979, has served as the director of the Human Development Center since 1986 and helped start the university's educational specialist degree program. This allows Wisconsin psychology students to continue their education beyond their master's program.

He said he has trained more than 300 school psychologists.

"If a person has any legacy, it's not so much what they do themselves. It's the impact they have on others," Frankenberger said. "I just am very proud to have been able to work with so many intelligent and successful students that have gone out and are working now. I'm certainly proud of the impact they are having on children in the state."

Graduate assistant in psychology Andrea Privratsky said she thinks Frankenberger deserves the award.

"He does a really great job working with the students here and helping to further their education so that they can go out and do a good job being school psychologists," Privratsky said.

And his wife, Marge Frankenberger, Eau Claire's academic publications and scheduling specialist,said she was in on the surprise.

"I think it's a great thing," she said. "The number of school psychologists that he's put in the field and are still working in Wisconsin and Minnesota … that's part of his legacy."

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