< Savage (c) is congratulated by Chancellor Fingerhut, l, and Governor Strickland.

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Savage receives Ohio faculty innovator award

In order to award and stimulate the creation of innovative, affordable instructional materials for students in the University System of Ohio, Chancellor Eric D. Fingerhut has created the University System of Ohio Faculty Innovator Awards. 

            Charles Savage, assistant professor of music at Ohio University-Zanesville, was chosen as one of eleven Ohio Faculty Innovators for 2009. He received a $1,000 cash award for using technological innovation to reduce the cost of textbooks to students and was recognized by Governor Strickland at an event at the Ohio Board of Regents Office in Columbus.

Savage’s desire to engage students with his own specially-developed content and support materials for students, which resulted in an innovative class that uses music and video-based software, was the reason colleague, Bill Christy nominated him for the recognition. "Charles has been working for several years on perfecting the delivery of an interactive online music fundamentals course. His nomination was a logical choice,” said Christy.

Savage introduced digital content in his Introduction to Music Theory (Music 100) class, and replaced expensive traditional printed textbooks with digital chapter class notes, workbooks, and sound and music files, which enriches learning and saves students money. In addition to teaching Music Theory, he teaches Exploring Musical Styles and Music Theory online, Folk Music History of the U. S., and Class Voice. He also directs the Ohio University-Zanesville Choral Union.

The Faculty Innovator Awards recognize outstanding faculty at the University System of Ohio institutions who have been creative in their use of using digital content (videos, simulations, e-texts and journals, visualizations, etc.) in courses, which ultimately lower the out-of-pocket cost of course materials for students.  Savage was recognized along with Jason T. Abbit, Michele Dickey and Janet Hurn of  Miami University; Robert Huber of Bowling Green State University; Bonnie Kirkpatrick, Marc Smith, Bruce Weide and Timothy Long of Ohio State University;  Nick Reeder from Sinclair Community College, and Mark A. Thomas of University of Cincinnati - Raymond Walters.