By Kezia Bryant And Matthew Marango

The J.B. Speed School of Engineering has been home to Professors Patricia Ralston and Larry Tyler for many years. Together they have a combined seventy years of experience to offer students. The two began co-teaching in 1999, after repeatedly receiving overwhelming suggestions to do so, in teacher evaluations.

Since that time, the professors have become an institution at the University of Louisville. They co-teach Engineering Analysis at Speed School and are famous for it. Not simply for being two professors who co-teach a class, but also for their interactive, humor-laden style of teaching.

“The first question generally is, ‘How did you start to teach together?'” Tyler said. “We taught the same class at different times, but had the same exam period. People asked ‘Why don’t you start teaching together?’ After two or three years, we decided to try it, and got overwhelming reviews.”

Ralston graduated from U of L and has been teaching at the Speed School since 1983.

Tyler has been teaching at U of L since October of 1963 and has maintained a passion for the profession. “I still love dealing with students, I get a real good vibe from them,” he said.

“I like it here and I’ve always liked teaching mathematics,” said Ralston, recently promoted to the department chairman.

The Speed School boasts many difficult courses, which is one of the reasons Ralston prefers teaching freshmen.

“During the first two years, a lot of critical things are happening. There’s nothing like the enthusiasm of young people,” said Ralston. “We have the opportunity to influence so many people’s lives [especially] at a time when they are questioning so many things like whether they belong here or not.”

Their class is primarily taken by freshmen and sophomores; newer students whom the professors enjoy making feel welcome.

In 1996, after having a liver transplant, Tyler’s doctor told him that he couldn’t return to work. “I told him, ‘Look, there are new students I’m teaching, in the most critical time in their lives. I need to be there.

Ahmed Awadallah, a second year bio-engineering major said he admits a lot of students want to drop out of Speed School after their first year. “They’re [Ralston and Tyler] always there to encourage students to stay in Speed,” said Awadallah. “Calculus can be boring if it’s not interactive but they have the magic that makes calculus fun.”

Ralston said their style is a lot of “teasing back and forth.” Tyler agreed, adding, “It helps break down barriers, [and] especially in the fall when freshmen will believe anything you say.”

“We try not to talk over each other and we catch each other’s mistakes,” said Ralston. “We divide up the material before class and trade off and on during class to keep people’s attention; it’s a very efficient system.”

Apparently their willingness to get along has proved to be a worthwhile effort and one their students recognize and appreciate. Awadallah said he appreciates their enthusiasm and hard work, adding, “They are passionate about having the best engineers come out of [U of L].”

Students seem to enjoy taking Tyler and Ralston’s class, frequently giving them high ratings. “We get evaluations from 4.2 to 4.5, and an awful lot of comments on how to change the course. That’s why I’m still teaching,” he said.

Jordan Malof, a fourth year electrical engineering student said “It’s an experience. The Tyler-Ralston Experience, like the Jimi Hendrix Experience. I don’t know how it happened, but it was good.”

Fourth year electrical engineering major Kent Matsuzaki said, “If you couldn’t understand one, the other would explain it. They’re a little fast paced, but they were straight to the point. They had an agenda and they kept to it.”

“Without Dr. Tyler and Dr. Ralston, the speed school experience would be completely different,” said Awadallah of the pair. “We are honored to have two outstanding and amazing professors in the Speed School of engineering.”