by Jessica Franken

Frank Wood is a remarkable person, though he would never admit as much. When asked about the numerous awards and recognition that he has received for his groundbreaking work in special education, he modestly says, “I just had some good friends.”

Wood has always had a passion for working with students with severe emotional, behavioral, and learning problems. He discovered his calling after earning his B.S. from the then-College of Education (’54), when he taught in inner city schools and at the Seminole Indian reservation in Florida. He taught the first elementary education class in the public schools for students with emotional and behavioral disorders in 1958, at the invitation of Evelyn Deno (Ph.D. ’58, M.A. ’50, B.S. ’48), director of special education for the Minneapolis Public Schools. This program revolutionized the classroom environment for students who had once been labeled “uneducable” by the school system.

Deno also encouraged Wood to return to the College of Education for his master’s degree (’62) and his Ph.D. (’65), which led to his position as a faculty member in the Department of Educational Psychology’s special education program. She joined him on the faculty two years later, and together they were part of a nationally renowned team that made great strides in inclusion, public policy, research, and teacher training. Wood was also an integral member of the University of Minnesota Committee for Social Concerns, which worked on equality issues around race, gender, and sexual orientation.

Wood says the hardest thing for him to give up when he retired in 1995 was teaching and working with people. Luckily, he has much to keep him busy in retirement, thanks to a happy marriage and a “wonderful, interesting family.” Wood’s wife, Raquel, is also a graduate of the College. They have three children (an herbalist, a bookstore owner, and an art teacher) and four grandchildren.

For all of their married life, the Woods have been involved in the Religious Society of Friends, and this community has focused Frank’s philosophy about collective responsibility. “There are some things that a society as a whole can do that as individuals we’re not able to do,” he says. “I’m very passionate about a society where people have a shared concern for each other.”

Wood is definitely doing his part. He and Raquel took care of her parents at the end of their lives, and since his retirement, he has been visiting and providing transportation for homebound senior citizens in his community. An amateur photographer, Wood is also compiling a book of portraits honoring Friends that are more than 80 years old.

In addition to photography, Wood enjoys camping, being outdoors, and sailing—“an elegant way to travel.” Retirement has given him an opportunity to do more reading, especially about the environment. He says his wife jokes with him about always reading “gloomy stuff about global warming.”

He plays harmonica and sings with an informal country/folk band called The Earthquakers (made up, naturally, of fellow Quakers). They perform on a volunteer basis for guests at birthday parties, residents at nursing homes, and “other friendly, uncritical groups.” Humble as always, Wood says of their audiences: “Probably they are the ‘volunteers!’ ”

PHOTO: Leo Kim