David Clough, professor of chemical and biological engineering, is in his third year as the University of Colorado’s Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) to the Big 12 Conference, as he was named to the position in March 2005.

Dr. Clough, 61, replaced Phil DiStefano, who had served in the role from June 1, 2000 until just shortly after his appointment as interim chancellor for the Boulder campus in 2005.  Clough is only the sixth FAR in CU history, joining a very prestigious list: Walter Franklin (1947-1948), Warren Thompson (1949-1966), William Baughn (1967-1989), James Corbridge (1989-2000) and DiStefano (2000-2005).

Dr. Clough has had a significant impact on engineering education at CU-Boulder and beyond through career-long efforts to enhance the learning of engineering students. He has pioneered active- and cooperative-learning techniques in the College of Engineering and Applied Science, and in 1989 he originated the concept of the Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory (ITLL).

He also has been involved with student-athletes for a long time, as he’s had a relationship with the CU athletic department for over 25 years.  He played an integral role in Rhodes Scholarship candidacy of former football player Jim Hansen, an Academic All-American who was awarded the Rhodes in 1993; he is now teaching at M.I.T. and the two remain best of friends.

Dr. Clough received his bachelor's degree from the Case Institute of Technology (now Case Western Reserve University) in 1968 and his master's from CU-Boulder in 1969, both in chemical engineering.  He worked as an engineer for E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc., from 1969 to 1972 before returning to CU-Boulder to earn his doctorate in 1975.  He joined the faculty of the Department of Chemical Engineering at that time.

From 1986 to 1992 he served as the college's associate dean for academic affairs, playing a role in a number of important initiatives, including the Gemmill Engineering Library, the Herbst Humanities Program, and the ITLL.  From 1993 through 1999, he was associate chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering and was responsible for significant improvements to the department's undergraduate advising program.

Known for his willingness to experiment with new educational concepts and technology, Dr. Clough has worked to reform traditional lecture classes into an interactive workshop format that greatly enhances the learning of students.  Through these efforts, he has helped to reshape the way engineering is taught.  The student-run Engineering Excellence Fund unanimously chose Dr. Clough as the first recipient of the Sullivan-Carlson Inspiration in Teaching Award in 1998. His students honored him with the AIChE Undergraduate Teaching Award three times (1996, 1997, 1998) and the college's Outstanding Advisor Award in 1993.  He also has been given the college's Hutchinson Teaching Award and Peters Service Award.  He received the first Boulder Faculty Assembly Teaching Award in 1980 and the Boulder Campus Outstanding Advisor Award in 1996.  His merit as an educator has also been recognized outside CU, as in 1995, the American Society for Engineering Education (Rocky Mountain Section) presented him with its first Outstanding Educator Award.

In April 2000, he received the college’s Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award in the Education category.  It recognized his significant impact on engineering education through pioneering the active learning concept for the ITLL, and in leading the college in changing traditional lecture courses to an active learning format.

He and his wife, Sydney, have four grown children, Astrid, William, Rodney and Damon.  Dr. Clough's father, John W. Clough, was a chemical engineer, and his two brothers are retired engineers.  The Clough family established a scholarship endowment in engineering at CU in honor of John Clough, who died in 1994.