The Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching honors faculty members who have done a superior job of teaching. Recipients are nominated by students and colleagues and are chosen by a committee of alumni, students and faculty. They receive a cash award of $3,000 and a $1,200 increase in their base salaries. Teaching award recipients also are inducted into the Academy of Teaching, which provides leadership on improving teaching at Ohio State.

Attending a class taught by Stone “is a dynamic experience,” according to one nominating student. A specialist in interactive visual communication, multimedia interfaces, Web usability, and environmental graphic design, he has taught both lecture and studio courses since joining the Ohio State faculty in 1999. He is lauded by colleagues for bringing new life to one of the department’s most difficult courses to teach and has made changes to the curriculum in numerous classes based on students’ needs. Students praise his teaching style, which puts beginners at ease while simultaneously challenging the more advanced. “He refers to students as ‘colleagues’ to flatten any hierarchy of communication that sometimes exists between students and instructor,” a student wrote, adding, “He’s in touch with the ‘industry’ of his art, and passed on all knowledge that he can. To him, hoarding knowledge is the biggest crime.” Stone was named by Apple Computer Inc. as an Apple Distinguished Educator for innovative use of technology in teaching in 2001-02.