Summer 2021 Robert L. Bailey Teaching Award Recipients Announced

Contact:

Sherry Mercurio
Executive Director, Office of Community Relations
(614) 947-6581
Email: sherry.mercurio@franklin.edu

Franklin University, one of the leading educators of working adults in central Ohio, celebrated its 168th Commencement on Friday, September 10. Along with honoring the graduates, Franklin recognized Linda Roesch and Dr. Bora Pajo, from its faculty as recipients of the distinguished Robert L. Bailey Teaching Award.

Congratulations to this trimester’s recipients: Linda Roesch, undergraduate faculty and Dr. Bora Pajo, graduate faculty.

Linda Roesch has been an adjunct professor at Franklin University since 2005. During that time, she has taught exclusively online. She has taught courses in several areas but mainly teaches for the math department. Linda enjoys contributing to the design of the math courses she teaches and prides herself on mentoring her online math students. She truly believes that with the right approach, all students can leave a math course feeling more comfortable with math and feeling successful. 

Linda holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and a graduate degree in instructional design for online learning. She has taken many graduate mathematics courses and her specialty is algebra. 

Linda currently works full time as an instructional designer for another Ohio college. She also teaches in the education and entrepreneurship programs and helps professors design courses.

Dr. Bora Pajo joined Franklin University in 2018 as the lead faculty for doctoral-level qualitative methods and design. Bora’s true passion has always been working and interacting with students and supporting their growth in doctoral work. She believes that her greatest achievement at Franklin has been starting and building the Doctoral Student Association that has proved to be a fantastic hub for doctoral students’ engagement, interaction and connectivity.

Before joining Franklin, she was an assistant professor of applied sociology and social work at Mercyhurst University. Dr. Pajo graduated with a Ph.D. in social welfare from the School of Public Health at Florida International University in Miami. She holds a master’s in anthropology and sociology from St. John’s University in New York City and a law degree from the University of Tirana in Albania, where she was raised.

About the Robert L. Bailey Teaching Award
Each trimester, two faculty members are honored with the Robert L. Bailey Teaching Award. Graduating students are asked to identify one undergraduate and one graduate faculty member who had the most significant influence on them throughout their educational experience at Franklin University. The award recognizes those who have challenged students intellectually and guided them in finding the significance of the course content as it relates to them both personally and professionally. 

While more than 100 graduate and undergraduate faculty members are nominated each trimester – clearly showing the magnitude of interaction between students and faculty at Franklin University – the faculty members receiving the most nominations are awarded this honor. 

These awards are funded through an endowment established by State Auto Insurance Companies in recognition of Robert L. Bailey, who served State Auto for 28 years in various positions, including President, CEO, and Chairman, until his retirement in 2000. Bailey is also a past Chair and a Trustee Emeritus of Franklin University’s Board of Trustees. 

About Franklin University

Accredited, nonprofit, and dedicated to educating adults since 1902, Franklin provides onsite course options at our Main Campus in downtown Columbus, Ohio, and is an innovator in providing personalized online education. The University offers applied in-demand undergraduate, masters, and doctorate programs that enable adult learners to achieve their educational and professional goals. Through agreements with partner institutions, the University also offers international academic programs, including its top-ranked MBA.

Franklin University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and holds specialized accreditations for specific academic programs through the International Accreditation Council for Business Education, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, and the Commission on Accreditation of Health Informatics and Information Management Education. The National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security have designated Franklin University as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE).