Frances Riddle, Coordinator in the Office of Academic Affairs
By Baylul Alem, The Whetstone
Frances Riddle is ready to retire – but she won’t stop teaching or helping out.
After nearly 10 years at Wesley College, Riddle has decided to retire as special project coordinator in the office of academic affairs.
“Even though I am retiring, I will be teaching one freshman seminar class next semester,†she said. “I will be more involved with my community. It’s time for me to be in control of my time.â€
Riddle will never be far away. She and her husband live across State Street from the college – so close that she sits on her front porch to watch Wesley’s May graduations.
Riddle opens her 101-year old home to many Wesley students and faculty.
The education majors come over to her house and do drills for their praxis test and then have dinner. The living-learning community sometime comes over as well to cook healthy meals.
Before completing her Bachelor’s degree, Riddle dropped out of school because she did not want to continue as a geography major.
She worked at TV Guide magazine but realized she still needed a degree so she went back to school.
She majored in Economics and Business Administration.
“I fell in love with economics†she said.  It was the math.
After receiving her degree, she began working for the federal government in Philadelphia until she was transferred to a social service position in the Office of Civil Rights in Washington D.C
After years of working there, she had the itch to teach.
Riddle started out as an adjunct in three different schools, including Del-Tech, Delaware State University and Wesley College.
The 5-foot, 66-year-old Riddle settled on Wesley College to relieve the stress of teaching at three institutions.
After she retires, she will be home a lot more with her two cats, Soren Kierkegaard and Archibald MacLeish, sisters named after Riddle’s favorite theologian and American poet.
As Riddle was growing up in suburban Philadelphia, she and her sister Rebecca had a turtle and so her parents did not have to worry about it making a mess.
Riddle’s cats, on the other hand, are part of the reason her house is always a wreck. Then again, they are the reason she enjoys her time there so much.
Robert Frazier, Riddle’s husband, is music director for the Presbyterian Church of Dover.
Every Wednesday night, Riddle and her husband play the ukulele.
“I absolutely love listening and playing to music, even though my husband is the one with the musical talent,†she said.
She’s looking forward to the endless summer of retirement.
One recent summer she drove across the country with six family members in a station wagon. It took them ten days to get to Seattle, but she also visited many other western attractions, including Yellowstone National Park.
“I can’t go on a big and long family vacation trip during the academic year, which is why I am so adventurous,†she said.
Vacation and relaxation all year-round sound great to Riddle but she will miss the students.
“I look at my students as my kids,†she said. “I practically watch them grow academically in my classes.â€
Professor Susan Cooper said Riddle is an excellent teacher.
“She has helped navigate students through mathematic equations for years,†Cooper said. “The model she provides as an active, engaged learner is an invitation to students. They grow under her tutelage, and enjoy the journey.â€
Riddle also has many interests, from music, literature and travel, to history and spirituality.
“Perhaps the single most noteworthy quality she embodies is absolute integrity,†Cooper said. “Professor Riddle is a good and kind person in a world that does not always acknowledge the value of those attributes.â€
Dr. Cynthia Newton said Riddle has been involved in dozens of events and projects on campus.
“She loves Wesley and its students and is always willing to jump right in and help,†she said. “The things that stand out most are her kindness, dedication, and sense of humor. She always gives 110 percent to everything and can be counted on regardless of the situation.â€
