NEOMED Professor of Psychiatry Fred Frese, Ph.D., my great friend and colleague, passed away on July 16, 2018. I have been incredibly proud to have Fred as a member of our department; he was, without a doubt, the only world-famous member of the NEOMED Department of Psychiatry. He began teaching medical students about his lived experience of recovery from schizophrenia years ago, and to this day, many NEOMED students and graduates refer to his lecture as one of the best, and certainly the most memorable, of their medical school education. When Fred was in the hospital during the final months of his life, the NEOMED graduates and students who cared for him shared their fond recollections of his encyclopedic knowledge, his warmth, his wit and the ways in which he had expanded their understanding of recovery from serious mental illness by sharing his recovery story.
Fred was an amazing person. He was both one of the nicest and the smartest people I have ever known. He touched so many lives in such a positive way. He had a tremendous sense of humor, but was ever humble and always wanted to help others. Fred may be gone, but we will continue to feel his impact at NEOMED, in Ohio and everywhere he went.
The NEOMED Department of Psychiatry and Peg's Foundation will honor the legacy of Fred and his wife, Penny Frese, Ph.D., with an annual Drs. Fred and Penny Frese Lecture. In this series, we intend to bring to NEOMED remarkable people like Fred, living successfully with serious mental illness or, like Penny, supporting their family members. Professor Elyn Saks will give the inaugural lecture in this series September 25 at 3:30 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the NEW Center.
—Submitted by Mark R. Munetz, M.D.
The Margaret Clark Morgan Chair in Psychiatry