Inducted: 2019
Kathleen Senior High Graduate, 1964
Ralph Frier is the executive director for Ridgeview Global Studies Academy. He has spent 51 years an educator in Polk County. He began his career in education as an English teacher at Kathleen Senior High, his alma mater. While there, he was named Teacher of the Year. He went on to become assistant principal at Seth McKeel Junior High, Lakeland High and Lakeland Highlands Middle School while simultaneously working as an adjunct professor at Southeastern College.
In 2001, he led the effort to convert Ridgeview into Ridgeview Global Studies Academy. Affectionately known as Papa Frier among his staff, his legacy will be ensuring that every student is taught a strong, multi-ethnic curriculum and embraces cultural diversity.
One of his most notable accomplishments was serving as a participant in the Fulbright Administrators Program in Japan.
He received his bachelor's degree in English and Latin from the University of South Florida in 1968 and his master's degree in library science from the University of South Florida in 1975.