Too often it seems, the remarkable teachers who change lives go unrecognized. Nancy Frontczak, a marketing professor at Metro received her recognition during the homecoming basketball game this year. According to the Human Resource department, Metro currently employs over 1,100 faculty members. Of all of them, Frontczak was recognized by Metro State alumni as ‘Metro’s most loved professor.’ “It was a really big honor to me, I really like students here,” Frontczak said.

“I really love Metro. The mission is a teaching mission. It’s a school that really focuses on teaching,” Frontczak went on to say.

Several alumni showed their appreciation to Frontczak. Diane Minnis Madlinger, class of 1990, recalled the following about Frontczak: “Her door was always open, as well as her heart and mind. She had an incredible way of opening my eyes to the world of marketing and all its possibilities,” Madlinger said. “With her upbeat style and her warm beautiful smile, I truly believe she was the gem of Metro State,” she added.

Another student of Frotczak’s, Eric Peterson, class of 1999, said that Frontczak always had a great attitude and made every student interested in the subject matter of her consumer behavior course. He said she did such a great job with the subject material and delivery that it is no wonder every student in the class thought she was an amazing professor, and all agreed that it was their most memorable class at Metro.

Frontczak has been teaching for the past 33 years. She began her crusade of educating students back in 1970 while earning her masters at the University of Illinois.

“I never really thought about teaching,” Frontczak said. However, during an interview last Monday, Frontczak went on to say that for the past 33 years, she has doing something she loves to do.

“I do love to teach,” she says. “I really love students.” Frontczak says that the classes of students are always evolving and always changing.

The way that Frontczak puts together courses and teaches them significantly differentiates her from other professors. “I like to do things to surprise students,” she said. “I like to keep things fresh and alive. I really want the students to learn, but also want them to know that I care about them.”

Frontczak told of one semester when she walked into her Consumer Behavior class the first day and asked the students how they would like to plan the semester. She actually ripped up the syllabus in front of them and had them organize the course themselves. “They did a great job,” Frontczak said.

Frontczak says the secret to her success may be her style – experiential learning. “I really do focus on experiential learning,” she said. She has her classes work on projects with real businesses – real world experience, experiential learning.

Photo by - Joshua Lawton Dr. Nancy Frontczak, a business professor at Merto, is praised and respected by her students. She was recently voted Metro's most-loved teacher.

In addition to teaching, Frontczak said that she never planned to study business while in undergraduate studies. “I applied late and the only school available was business,” Frontczak

said. She says that at the time there were hardly any women students in the business school at the University of Illinois. “I planned on transferring out of the business school and into liberal arts. It was by accident that I ended up studying marketing,” Frontczak said.

Not that Frontczak has come to be without discipline, hard work or heart to do what she does. Frontczak has published articles in eight scholarly journals including the Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Advertising, Marketing Education Review, Business Horizons, International Journal of Management, Health Marketing Quarterly and Journal of Hospital Marketing.

For the past five years Frontczak has also been the associate editor for the Journal of Marketing Education on Experiential Learning. “I feel like I am up-to-date in that area [experiential learning],” she said.

Here at Metro, Frontczak teaches Principles of Marketing, Consumer Behavior, and Promotional Strategy.

Outside of teaching, Frontczak says the highlight of her life is spending time with her family. She doesn’t consider herself an athlete, but has participated in the Boulder Bolder every year for the past fifteen years.

In the future, Frontczak says she wants to keep up her enthusiasm for teaching marketing and to pass it on to her students. Metro is fortunate to have a professor with such character, enthusiasm, relevancy, and most importantly, compassion for her students.