The Ojemann Legacy

The Ralph H. and Freda E. Ojemann Visiting Professorship is an endowed fund established to bring a distinguished professor to the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. The professorship rotates annually among the Department of Neurology, the Department of Neurosurgery, and the Department of Psychiatry. The three Ojemann children created the professorship through a memorial gift. Their intent is to reinforce the interdisciplinary ideals for education and research held by their father, who was a faculty member at The University of Iowa from 1929 to 1965.

Both Ralph and Freda Metzger Ojemann grew up on farms in Illinois. They met as undergraduates at the University of Illinois and were married in 1925. Freda Ojemann was the first person in her family to attend college and, after earning her degree; she went on to teach high school in Virginia City, Illinois. While working toward his Ph.D. degree in psychology at The University of Chicago, Ralph Ojemann became interested in human behavior and how it is modified by experience. Attracted to The University of Iowa by the Child Welfare Research Station, he joined the UI faculty in 1929.

Ralph Ojemann taught courses on development of human behavior and studied the effect of education on behavior development. As part of that research, he developed curricula designed to provide students with insights into causes of various behaviors, with the goal of modifying behavior that was less socially acceptable. In his work, Ojemann crossed the traditional lines of child psychology to draw from other disciplines, including education, medicine, law and experimental psychology. Ojemann’s program in preventive psychiatry was the focus of several conferences at Iowa during the 1950s, sponsored by the William T Grant Foundation, where the roles of these various disciplines in modifying behavior were extensively explored.

The Ojemann children decided on an interdisciplinary professorship to honor the commitment to education, the University and the community that was the focal point of their parents’ lives. During the couple’s years at The University of Iowa, Freda Ojemann was active in the League of Women Voters and was president of the local chapters of the University Club and the Associate of University Women. The Ojemanns gardened extensively and were very active in the Congregational Church.

Ralph Ojemann retired from the University of Iowa as a professor emeritus in child behavior and development, now part of the Department of Psychology. He accepted a position as Director of Experimental Psychology in the Greater Cleveland Educational Research Council, continuing his research until his death in 1975. Freda Metzger Ojemann died in 1986.

The Ojemann’s love and respect for education, and Ralph Ojemann’s interest in human behavior, were passed on their children. Kathryn Ojemann McKean graduated from Radcliff College with a degree in psychology. Robert G. and George A. Ojemann both received medical degrees from The University of Iowa.