In Memoriam

Grant Eugene “Gene” Beckett, age 63, of S.R. 73, McDermott, Ohio, died 6:03 P.M. Saturday, December 19, 2009 at the Ohio State University Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

Gene Beckett was NADE President-elect 1994-95; NADE President 1995-96; longtime member of the Ohio Association for Developmental Education (OADE) and the National Association for Developmental Education; former President of OADE; member of the NADE 2010 Conference Planning Team. “Gene was an enthusiastic person and a moving force in the development of the OADE organization.” Kathleen Buttermore, NADE 2010 Conference Chair.

In 1996, Dr. Gene Beckett (President of NADE) invited the presidents of other associations attending the conference to meet and discuss establishing a council representing developmental education and learning assistance organizations. The original idea as envisioned by Gene Beckett and Jim Melko (then Co-Chair of NADE’s Political Liaison Committee) was to bring organizations together to:

• Develop a political agenda for learning assistance and developmental education associations,
• Promote that agenda through political liaison activities, Establish a unified voice for the field,
• Provide a forum for improved communication among the various professional associations in the field,
• Provide a vehicle for the coordination of association activities,
• Promote cooperation among the various professional associations in the field.
• The American Council of Developmental Education Associations (ACDEA) held its first organizational meeting at the February, 1996 conference of the National Association for Developmental Education (NADE) in Little Rock, Arkansas. ACDEA has been renamed and is now the Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations (www.CLADEA.net). Though not as they initially envisioned it, Gene and Jim can be credited with being the impetus to create this important and much needed unifying organization for the field.

Gene was born March 19, 1946 in Portsmouth, Ohio, a son of the late Raymond and Ann Ehrlich Beckett. On August 22, 1998 he was united in marriage to Marian Fischels Beckett who survives. Also surviving are three children, Joseph Grant Beckett, Graceann Frances Beckett and Ethan Vincent Beckett, all at home, two brothers, Tony Beckett of Jermyn, Pa., and Rick Beckett of Portsmouth, Ohio, his former wife, Rebecca Folsom Parks, special friends, Rita Frye and Bruce Kelley, and special relatives, Greg Beckett and Phillip Ehrlich.

Gene graduated from High School in Wheatridge, Colorado, received his BA and MA in English, and his PhD in higher education. He was a former English and Spanish high school teacher, and was an administrator and associate professor of Developmental English at Shawnee State University.

He was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the Portsmouth Sister City Committee, attended Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Otway, Ohio, and was a Navy veteran of the Viet Nam era.

“Gene was an enthusiastic person and a moving force in the development of the OADE organization.”

Kathleen Buttermore, NADE 2010 Conference Chair

“Gene was a very dedicated, caring, and impressive mentor and leader in developmental education. As a regional representative, I was impressed with the work Gene Beckett and Jim Melko did in working to create a network of political lisiaons. At NADE in Washington, D.C., we all were to meet with state reps–it was very informative. I found Gene’s genuineness and enthusiasm for his field contagious and exciting.”

Rick Sheets, AZADE/SWADE initial President (met with AZ rep in Washington DC),
LSCHE Webmaster, CRLA President

Bill Broderick was a Reading Professor and the Director of the Reading Center at Cerritos College, CA, where he received the outstanding faculty of the year award. He co-authored the TechTalk column in the Journal of Developmental Education. He authored several reading textbooks for Townsend Press, including Ten Steps to Building College Reading Skills and Groundwork for College Reading.

CRLA Remembers Kathy Carpenter
By Jo-Ann Mullen, University of Northern Colorado

Kathy Carpenter, a Fellow of the Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations (CLADEA, formerly ACDEA) since 2001, passed away November 7, 2009, of cancer. Kathy was the longtime learning center director and tutoring program coordinator at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Mentor and friend to many in the field, she continued her work even after retirement from UNK. Articles to which she contributed appeared recently in CRLA and NADE publications.

Kathy Carpenter lived well. She worked hard, and she played hard.

Kathy left a positive impression on all who were lucky enough to be close to her. Former students talk of her ability to connect, how they learned to succeed in school because of her teaching, and how Kathy got them to believe in themselves and their future potential.
Colleagues remember Kathy as a professional and career mentor, one who inspired her peers to greater professional involvement—chiefly in CRLA—and to being positive spokespersons for tutor program certification and learning assistance. We also smile and remember the Mardi Gras strut at the CRLA Pearls of Wisdom conference (1997 in Sacramento) that Kathy chaired, as well as the time as treasurer she told a general assembly of the CRLA membership when announcing a rare dues increase that “when you have to swallow a frog, it’s better not to stare at it for too long first.”

We remember Kathy as one who enjoyed life. She loved the Big Red and out of love for the Huskers introduced some of us to red beer, often with a Reuben. She was also an avid golfer and, after retirement, she joined the LOWs—Loners on Wheels—with whom she took (and led) caravan trips throughout the country and to Deming, NM, where group get-togethers were held. I visited Kathy during a summer she spent in Yuma, AZ, in her RV and left thinking about the great world she’d created there: friends, reading time, golf, and excursions to Mexico for lunch and other nearby attractions.

Mostly we remember Kathy for her hearty laugh, her passion for people and for helping others. We also remember all she did for CRLA. You didn’t say no to Kathy when she asked you to do a job or run for office. Her presidential address (1998 in Salt Lake City) was an impassioned plea for members to get involved in CRLA leadership, and many responded. In the Heartland Chapter of CRLA, when one is being so nicely yet effectively persuasive, he or she is said to be “doing a Kathy.”

CRLA friends describe Kathy as witty, caring, passionate, enthusiastic, and thoughtful. She could make you laugh or cry in an instant. She was quick to empathize, too. She had wanted to be a counselor but couldn’t do it; she always broke down and wept with the student she was trying to help. Instead, she found her profession in showing students how to be successful, fighting for learning center space on campus, meeting with students on landings and setting up tables in basement rooms. She was a treasured colleague and friend. It is fitting that Kathy grew up in Valentine, Nebraska, because this small woman, a founding member of the Heartland CRLA Chapter, had an enormous heart. She will be missed greatly but will live on in CRLA.

Reprinted from NewsNotes, College Reading & Learning Association, January 2010, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1, page 6 (with permission, Jan 2010).

Shevawn Eaton, Northern Illinois University:

Whenever I attended CRLA, I, like many people, sought [Kathy] out, no longer for professional mentoring but for her sense of humor and her tales of her adventures in retirement and throughout her life. I adored and admired her. She was truly one of a kind.

Russ Hodges, Texas State University-San Marcos, CLADEA Chair:

“She was my colleague, mentor, friend, cheerleader, and confidant. I loved how she tapped into people’s potential and helped make them shine.”

Kathy gave me more than advice. Through her wonderful smile, quick wit, raspy voice, and self-assured words, she gave me the courage to dream.

Sad news…Frank Christ, a friend, mentor, leader and to many of us was considered the father of Learning Assistance — has passed away. For three years he was battling cancer and until October was seemingly holding his own.

Frank L. Christ: Visiting Scholar, U of A, AZ: Keynoter, Presenter, Mentor, Co-founder of LSCHE.net (Learning Support Centers in Higher Education).

Frank was the director of the CSU Long Beach Summer Institutes (1985-1989), the co-director/coordinator of the Arizona Winter Institutes (1991-2003) and has been actively involved with learning assistance for more than 40 years. He was the founder and past coordinator (1972-1990) of the award-winning Learning Assistance Support System at CSU Long Beach. He was the author of the first computer-based diagnostic and prescriptive study skills survey, six study skills textbooks, and many articles on learning assistance, study skills, and technology as it impacts on teaching and student learning. In recent years, Frank had been involved in on-line course development and teaching as well as presenting workshops on learning support for online student/learners.

Frank was one of the founding fathers and past president of the College Reading and Learning Association. His editorial contributions include guest editor and contributor to the Jossey-Bass New Directions for Learning Assistance series (1981), founding columnist (1981-87) of the Journal of Developmental Education “Techtalk” Series, co-editor of Starting up a Learning Assistance Center: Conversations With CRLA Members Who Have Been There and Done That (2000), co-author of 100 Things Every Online Student Ought To Know. (2003), and of Online Student Skills and Strategies Handbook (2006). Frank was also a Founding Fellow (2000) of CLADEA. Most recently, Frank had submitted a proposal for LSCHE and won NCLCA’s “Innovative Use of Technology Award” on October 4, 2012.

Thank you for the many heartfelt comments and replies already received regarding Frank Christ’s passing. I believe all posts to date should now be under colleague tributes at http://www.lsche.net/?page_id=1568. If you have not and would like to send a colleague tribute post, simply reply to this message on LRNASST and it can be posted on this site.

For anyone interested in supporting the creation and management of a resource as a research and scholar’s library read on. A special account which has been set up in Frank & Alice Christ’s names through Texas State University. Frank was a Founder and Mentor of TIDE (Technology Institute for Developmental Educators) and was working with David Caverly to send his personal Learning Assistance Library to become part of a Scholar’s Library to support their Developmental Education program. If you would like to send a donation, you can send it as a check or charge as follows:

For checks, send to:
Frank & Alice Christ Scholar’s Library & Scholarship Fund
Texas State University-San Marcos
Attn: Donor Services, JCK-480
601 University Drive
San Marcos, TX 78666

For charges, please call Kimberly at (512) 245-3022.
and state that it is for the new Frank & Alice Christ Scholar’s Library & Scholarship Fund
Kimberly A. Garrett
Assistant Director, Donor Services
Endowment Compliance
University Liaison for Retired Faculty & Staff Association

Frank Christ’s memorial service was at St Andrew Catholic Church in Sierra Vista, AZ on Friday, January 25, 2013 and was interned at Vets Cemetery, Buffalo Soldiers Trail, within Ft. Huachuca.

Rick Sheets

Frank, Goodbye, for now my friend! You will be fondly remembered and much missed here! Know peace until we meet again! I hear Amazing Grace playing on bagpipes in my head as I close this message…

(posted by Rick Sheets, Friend & LSCHE Co-founder)

28- Dr. Loyd “Ray” Ganey, Jr.

My wife, Gerlinde, and I are blessed people. And one of our great life blessings is to have known Frank for 17 wonderful years. Some of us are blessed to have a good, caring neighbor from time to time in our lives. A few of us are blessed to have a meaningful, supportive mentor to work with in our lives. A couple of us are blessed to have a genuine friend whom you love as family.

It is a rarity of life to have someone who encompasses all these attributes…and for us… that was Frank Christ.

Our times with Frank, and dear Alice, have been the stuff of life’s treasured memories. Great fun at breakfasts, lunches, and dinners – and in particular at Rosa’s, and our Murder Mystery Dinners were Frank could really get into his character by superb costumes…As my wife, Gerlinde, once told Frank when he was dressed up as a Roman Senator…”Frank you look good in any age!”

I truly miss Frank for all of our great discussions from academia and education, to restaurants and food, to films and literature, to handcrafted beers and fine scotch whiskies!

Frank was one of a kind. I salute him as a WWII soldier who served our nation. I honor him as a servant to God, family and community. I love him as one of my dearest of life friends.

We pray God’s comfort and strength for our dear Alice and sons, Michael, Steven, Greg, and Frank.

May God be with you, and may we all hold close the precious memories of Frank to our hearts and minds now and forever. Amen.

27- Wendy Cole, Muhlenberg College, PA

Frank was the most compassionate, patient, brilliant mentor for me as a young professional years ago. I still think of our time together in conference sessions and at the Arizona Institute years ago. We have lost a great advocate for our work.

26- Alice Christ – Obituary sent to Sierra Vista Herald for Sunday, to be printed on 1/27/2013

Francis Leo Christ
June 25, 1923 — December 11, 2012

Francis (Frank) Leo Christ departed this life on December 11, 2012, in Sierra Vista, Arizona. Eighty-nine years ago, on June 25, 1923 he was born to Anna Seidl and Philip Christ in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Frank was preceded in death by his parents, brothers; Charles and George Christ, sister Helen Christ Stockmal and grandson Colin Christ.

He is survived by his loving wife Alice A. Christ; sons James, Steven, Michael, Gregory and Francis (Frank X.) Christ; grand-daughters; Hilary, Gabrielle and Natalie Christ and grandson Zachary Christ.

A Veteran of World War II, Frank served in the 128th combat Engineers Battalion Corps. In peacetime he was assigned to the Master of the Sword, now known as the Physical Education Department at The United States Military Academy. During this assignment, Frank married Alice Amlin of Baltimore, Maryland, who was his sweetheart and companion for 63 years.

Reentering civilian life Frank joined the faculty of Loyola College, Baltimore, Maryland, and later joined the faculty of St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Subsequently Frank and his family moved to California to teach at Loyola University, Los Angeles. During that time, Frank’s life-long commitment to teaching students how to learn became more focused.

At California State University, Long Beach, Frank created the first Learning Assistance Center in the nineteen-campus California State University system. Ultimately, he provided training and on-going collegial support for those responsible for establishing the Learning Assistance Center for their campus. Each of the nineteen campuses in the CSU System established a Learning Assistance Center. Additionally, this same training was provided to educational institutions in other states and countries in an effort to provide learning assistance for student success.

In 1990, Frank became Professor Emeritus and moved to Sierra Vista. He continued his dialogue with beloved colleagues everywhere, to share his knowledge, through personal contact and the use of technology, to encourage and to provide support and friendship to committed professionals in the learning assistance and reading field to the end of his days.

Frank will be deeply missed by his family and all those whose lives he touched.

A Mass Service will be held at 12 noon, Friday, January 25, 2013 at St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church, 800 Taylor Dr. NW, Sierra Vista. Interment will follow at 2:00 P.M. with full military honors at the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 1300 Buffalo Soldier Trail, Fort Huachuca.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to: Frank and Alice Christ Scholar’s Library and Scholarship Fund, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, JCK-480, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, Texas 78666.

25- Norm Stahl

Below is the short obituary for Frank Christ the Chronicle of Higher Education ran in print and online. Feel free to forward this link to colleagues. http://chronicle.com/article/Frank-L-Christ-Advocate-of/136739/

Frank L. Christ, known throughout the nation and beyond as the “Father” of the modern Learning Assistance movement, died on December 11, 2012 in Sierra Vista, AZ. He was 89. He was the founder and coordinator of the award winning Learning Assistance Support System at CSU Long Beach, which served as the model for learning assistance centers that were incorporated in student affairs and academic units throughout higher education across four decades. He was also one of the founders and past president of the College Reading and Learning Association. Throughout his long career he was the author of the first computer based diagnostic and prescriptive study strategy inventory, six study skills textbooks, and numerous articles and columns on learning assistance, study strategies, and technological innovations as these impacted both teaching and student learning. In honor of his extensive scholarship, editorial contributions, and service to the profession the National College Learning Center Association annually grants the Frank L. Christ Outstanding Learning Center Award so as to provide national recognition for the work provided by outstanding learning centers. Tributes to forty years of his leadership may be found [here] on the Learning Support Centers in Higher Education site at .

24- Sylvia Mioduski, The University of Arizona

Jan 14, 2013

It is icy cold in Tucson, AZ this morning … my memory flashes back to the first week of every January between 1992 and 2003. It was always very cold as my colleagues at the University of Arizona and Rick Sheets and his crew at Paradise Valley Community College loaded up vans with most of the available technology in our learning centers to make the trip to the Viscount Suite Hotel in Tucson. It was time for Winter Institute week!

Months of planning and preparation with Frank Christ, Rick Sheets, Guillermo Uribe and many others was about to culminate in bringing together mentors, presenters and learning assistance professionals for an amazing – albeit intense –week of collegial learning with each of us taking home Next Steps to implement on our own campus. Despite the cold (and a hotel better known for its convenience for week-long visitors and for a morning breakfast buffet than recognizing the computer age was upon it), Frank’s energy was boundless. He thoroughly embraced the potential that new technologies of that era offered for those of us working with students – what a visionary!

It was a learning experience just watching and experiencing him in action – mentoring, teaching, tutoring, directing, sharing, cajoling, challenging, always caring, and always with great spirit and a ready smile. He helped so many of us understand –first hand– the true meaning of collegiality and collegial leadership. And always he was supported by the beautiful Alice.

I shall forever be grateful that I had the opportunity to work so closely with him for so many years. His friendship and spirit is enduring.

23- Dr. Nancy Carriuolo, President of Rhode Island College

I was president of NADE in the mid-1980s. Frank taught me how to set up the learning center at my university. He urged me to take leadership roles. My husband and I for 30 years have periodically repeated to each other one of Frank’s comments: “some days it is just right to forget what you planned to do and take a left-hand turn to the beach instead.” We did not always live near a beach, but we got Frank’s point that there should be some spontaneous joy in every day. He lives on through his writings and in the hearts of students and colleagues. He was a special person.

22- Johanna Dvorak, PhD, Director, Educational Support Services, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

It is very sad to learn of losing Frank Christ to our Learning Assistance family. Those of us who knew Frank all have our stories of this great advocate for our field. We have based our practice on his vision and leadership.

I first met Frank when he would have been at a typical retirement age of 65, but we all know that Frank never retired. He was a mentor and presenter at an early Midwest College Learning Center Association (now NCLCA) Summer Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. I commuted to Kenosha, WI from Milwaukee. Parkside is situated on a beautiful area of land, and Frank, being very physically fit, wished he had a bike to ride around the grounds. So I loaded up my husband’s bike in the back of my station wagon for him to ride, and our friendship was sealed! Little did I know that this gesture would lead to my professional growth by being mentored by Frank in a life-long career in college academic support.

What I will remember about Frank and try to emulate: his self-discipline (he rode a stationary bike every morning), his time management skills, his commanding voice (when he spoke, you listened), his organized “blueprint” presentations, his vision of using technology and online learning, his application of business principles to learning center management, and his unwavering support of our learning assistance family.

Frank would be asking us now to identify our “Next Steps.” Our tribute to Frank is to carry on the tradition he began.

21- Elizabeth Dewey

This was the featured poem on The Writer’s Almanac today. In the very best way, it made me think of Frank. On the few occasions I talked to him, he showed that rarest of gifts– making me feel as if I were absolutely vital and important to the work of education.

Frankly by Naomi Shihab Nye
No one has time for the dying. And they don’t have time for us either.
Our lunch dates and appointments, their fitful sleeps and crusted eyes.
Students circling in a parking lot down the road certainly don’t have time.
First period coming too soon will scatter clumps of flirtation.
Moms in fitness garb with grocery lists and car pool numbers
stuck to refrigerators,have too many of the living to pick up, drop off.
At the end we bore the dying, our teary smiles, pitiful offerings.
Frank said, “If I could only get back to my desk, back to work,”
and closed his eyes. Last line.
What a surprise to learn the greatest pleasure of life was all that daily labor.

“Frankly” by Naomi Shihab Nye, from Transfer. © BOA Editions, Ltd., 2011. Reprinted with the permission.

20- Bob Hackworth

Frank and Alice have been wonderful friends over a 40-year period. One of the problems with getting old is losing the possibility of hearing from someone like Frank who always had an idea that was intriguing.

19- Diana Bell

David, … thanks for your post on Frank. He will be SO missed–he is one of those few people you meet in your life with such passion and enthusiasm. I will miss him too.

18- David C. Caverly, Ph.D., Director, Developmental Reading Program
Professor, Graduate Program in Developmental Education Director, Technology Institute for Developmental Educators Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction Texas State University – San Marcos

We will indeed miss Frank as a guiding light for our profession. His work dramatically changed the lives of countless students that have been impacted by what we as learning assistance professionals learned from him. It is not overstated to say his creativity and organizational skills developed, improved, and led the nature and effectiveness of learning assistance centers.

As I reflect on Frank’s impact on me, I realize how much he was my mentor helping me understand what I know about the role of technology in our field. It started with Frank’s convincing argument that Bill Broderick and I take over the TechTalk column in 1987. It continued over the years when, as late as a month ago, we discussed the role of learning centers for students in MOOCs plotting and planning on what we could do to reduce their large drop out rates.

Frank and I spoke regularly about his passions: improving learning assistance by integrating technology, insuring authors’ keep their copyright on their work, and raising the status of learning centers on campuses. On a lighter note, we also spoke about the virtues of a good scotch whiskey. Frank and I would often meet in the Hospitality Suite at CRLA, catch up with each other, and then he would pull out a flask of 18 year-old, single malt scotch whiskey. He would share a little with me, and then explain how the sources of peat created its flavor.

I was lucky enough to get invited by Frank to present several times at the Winter Institute for Learning Assistance. His obvious joy in developing our collective knowledge for delivering learning assistance was palpable. Indicative of this was the care he gave to the breadth and lengths of the sessions, the quality of the venue and food, and the need for a break in the middle of the week to explore the desert around Tucson or Phoenix. He truly understood how to educate professionals through these week-long, intense learning opportunities scaffolded with networking and downtime. These principles helped us develop TIDE, and Frank was kind enough to bring Alice along to San Marcos as he served as a mentor for our first two years.

I will miss Frank’s conversations and creative insights. I will miss his innovative ideas and smiling face as we talked on Skype. I can only hope to have as great a professional impact as Frank has had on our field. I am blessed to have known and to have grown because of Frank Christ.

17-Mike O’Hear

Frank Christ was truly a unique person in the best sense of the word. He was scholarly and highly knowledgeable, yet filled with a personal concern for people in a way I have seldom seen in the academic community. He was willing to share freely with others. His encouragement of others in pursuing new ideas was legendary. His excitement about new projects was infectious. I met him at my first WCRA conference back in 1976. Throughout my career, he was an inspiration and guide. His last communication to me was a short prayer that he took time to look up and e-mail after we discussed it briefly during our final conversation. To me, that typified the man. With all the work he was trying to complete and with his illness progressing, he still found time for a small kindness to a friend. He was truly a great man and will be greatly missed.

The words of this final prayer speak volumes about Frank:

“Grant to me keenness of mind, capacity to remember, skill in learning, subtlety to interpret, and eloquence in speech. May you guide the beginning of my work, direct its progress, and bring it to completion. You Who are true God and true Man, Who live and reign, world without end. Amen.”

16- Rick Sheets
LSCHE Co-founder and Webmaster, CRLA ITTPC Coordinator

I knew of Frank’s work before, but first met him as I attended the month-long Kellogg Institute in 1985. Frank’s topics included Study Skills, MBO, Learning Assistance Support System, and the importance of the learning assistance director being a catalyst for learning technology, research, and best practices on the campus. My professional life would never again be the same! Within a few years Frank decided to move to Arizona and we worked together to have the Summer Institutes moved to Arizona with a cooperative effort between the Univ. of AZ in Tucson hosting them and the Maricopa Community Colleges (me) providing staff and technology to support them as well.

I was fortunate to watch and work with frank to collaboratively help support and create a number of initiatives (e.g., LSCHE, LRNASST, TIDE, & Dear Prof) that continue today. Frank, 30 years my senior, was always on the go. His boundless energy was difficult to keep pace with–always. I wish we had been able to explore many of the other ideas he mentioned in passing, that we never had time to develop.

In addition to his health, I think another frustration for Frank this past year, was a change made in CRLA. He was one of the founding fathers of CRLA and always saw it as a volunteer & member-based organization. He expressed to me that he was very distressed that the CRLA Board had made a long-term and expensive commitment to move to a management company without any prior discussion with the membership. He was also dismayed that such a decision had been made and then not disclosed to the membership more than six months after being implemented. He stated he was also surprised that no explicit performance criteria was delineated or required for the contracted management company. Frank shared several times that he was seriously considering attending the 2012 CRLA Houston conference to denounce his CRLA membership in the general meeting. But his health did not permit the trip. Frank and I discussed and we both agreed that LSCHE should not move under the control of a management company and it has not.

Frank was an enigma to be sure. He was a mentor, friend, supporter, visionary, and a true catalyst for learning. And he could also be very vocal, and take anyone to task, especially, if he felt they were in a position where they were not paying attention or doing what he felt they should be doing.

We plan to keep LSCHE online and will update the links in LSCHE’s 475+ pages over the next year as LSCHE continues to be what Frank called: “The only OER dedicated to learning assistance.” –continuing the work Frank started from a discussion about creating the web page in 1996.

Though his work will continue through many people, services, and support ripples he started or added to, Frank is missed greatly already.

15- Olga Thurman

Frank will long be remembered as a truly gifted, caring individual who truly made a difference in the industry.

14- Linda Russell

Frank was a mentor to many, one of the common themes in these posts. I met Frank the first time I attended Winter Institute. Not only was WI a powerful learning experience, I also made some great friends. Frank was one of them. It was uncanny the way he remembered me each year at CRLA–and a lot of other people too! His genuine interest in my learning center work was both helpful and affirming. Thank you, Frank, for inspiring so many to do good work on behalf of our students. Rest well, my friend.

13- Rosalind Lee

I am very, very sad to hear the news about Frank.

My association with Frank dates back to 1986 when I and another newbie in the field attended his workshop/institute at CSU – Long Beach. Wide-eyed and eager to learn as much as I could, Frank gave me as much information as I could absorb – and then some. 🙂 Armed with encouragement, techniques, references and a strong network I could rely on, I went back to my college and started a learning assistance center which quickly grew to become multi-campus and, more importantly, a line item in the annual budget.

After those first years, it was always a joy to see him and have a short visit during CRLA conferences. He always asked about the center. He cared, both about my work and career and about my life in general.

I’ll miss him. Please pass along my condolences to Alice and his family.

12- James Valkenburg

Om Shanti, Frank Christ. Om Shanti.

11- Kathryn Van Wagoner

[tears]
I have been dreading this news. As amazing as Frank is, I knew he couldn’t cheat death.

I see Frank as a kindred spirit. We had many interests in common outside of our love of learning assistance. He inspired me to want to do great things in our profession. He mentored me mostly by setting the example. I have treasured the brief times we have associated at conferences, and regret that I wasn’t able to learn at his feet more often.

Such a great loss.

10- Lucy Tribble MacDonald, M.A.,M.A.
Faculty Emerita, Chemeketa Community College

Tis time to raise a glass ( a single malt Scotch, if you have it) to celebrate the brilliance and work of Frank Christ. He has left all of us a wonderful legacy both in LSCHE.net and in mentors throughout the profession. I remember him telling me you need to write for Tech Talk. I said “Who me?” “Yes,” he replied. “You have a lot to contribute.” With a little prodding and support, I co-authored the Tech Talk column for 10 years with Dr. Caverly. Frank would Skype me frequently and say “We need to …” and I knew I had another project coming — always something pertinent and always something that I could contribute to. When I needed a resource, he had one ready and waiting for me with all the data and detail that I needed.

Now Frank is not far away and his next assignment for me is clear, “we” need to continue the mentoring and bring others along. “We” need to continue the sharing and not lose the professional memory. So in honor of Frank, we should all raise a glass and celebrate by bringing another member of our profession along with hints, tips and support.

9- Russ Hodges, Ed.D.

Chair, Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations,
Associate Professor Texas State University-San Marcos Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction

As Rick Sheets mentioned, so many of us in the field consider Frank Christ our “Father of Learning Assistance.” Like any great patriarch, he was the pillar of strength and support for us. He was always available to guide us when asked, and he continually encouraged us to reach our potential. His energy was endless as he mentored us, taught us, and led us by example.

On behalf of the member associations of the Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations and the thousands of learning assistance professional and students that have benefited from Frank’s lasting contributions, we send our heartfelt condolences to his family, colleagues and friends. In the words of the novelist Lydia Child, “Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father.”

8- Rebecca Goosen, President NADE

The NADE Board also would like to extend our condolences to Frank Christ’s family and to the larger learning assistance community. We have lost a true pioneer in our field and a wonderful human being. When someone passes our minds seem to go to the first time we met that individual. Mine was at the first CRLA conference I ever attended and it was in Reno. A man approached me with a big smile and introduced himself. Being unaware of who Frank was or what he did his approach gave me pause. However, then he proceeded to strike up a conversation to find out what I did which made me feel instantly welcomed at the conference. I also had the pleasure of taking a class with him and Dr. White while I was at Gambling. What a rich experience it was to have known him! We will all miss him but his wisdom and energy will live on. Rest in peace dear friend.

7- Marcy Marinelli, Ph.D., NCC

So sad to hear this news….Frank was a true leader in our field and a great role model who kept active even in his retirement.

6- Melissa Thomas, CRLA President
On behalf of the CRLA Board

This morning we were told about a great loss to our profession- the passing of Frank Christ. On behalf of the entire CRLA Board we ask that you keep Alice and his family in your thoughts and memorialize him with stories of his friendship, his passion, and his leadership.

My first encounter with Frank was on this very listserv so many years ago… He and I disagreed on something (I can’t remember what now)… but I had no idea who he was… I was young and very new to the field. He was patient– as always. I am sure he is proud of the legacy he has left behind and I hope that we can continue his good work…
With a heavy heart…

5- Dorothy A. Briggs, UofA, AZ

This is sad news indeed. Frank was a mentor, teacher and support person for me. I first met him over 10 years ago and he remembered me every subsequent meeting. I consulted with him and asked for his advice many times.

Over the years Frank has worked very closely with the staff of the UA. He and Sylvia Mioduski ran the Winter Institute hosted here at the UA through the 90’s. He visited the THINK TANK in 2010, sharing his advice and wisdom with the staff.

Several years ago, at Frank’s urging, Penny Turrentine from Pima Community College, Frank and I had toyed with the idea of bringing the Winter Institute back. At the CRLA Conference in San Diego he told me that he had decided that we shouldn’t pull those in the learning assistance community from the existing professional development opportunities, but really should be pushing our colleagues to participate in CRLA and NCLCA opportunities. I think secretly Penny and I were relieved and both supportive.

Frank had a Twitter account and would Tweet under the name of @DearProf. On September 2nd he Tweeted the following: I say the St Thomas Aquinas prayer “Come Holy Spirit…” before writing for publication, before my F2F (Face to Face) and my webinar presentations.

Here is the prayer, FYI. It is very appropriate given our field:

Come, Holy Spirit, Divine Creator, true source of light and fountain of wisdom! Pour forth your brilliance upon my dense intellect, dissipate the darkness which covers me, that of sin and of ignorance. Grant me a penetrating mind to understand, a retentive memory, method and ease in learning, the lucidity to comprehend, and abundant grace in expressing myself. Guide the beginning of my work, direct its progress, and bring it to successful completion. This I ask through Jesus Christ, true God and true man, living and reigning with You and the Father, forever and ever.

Amen.

May we find comfort through his faith.

4- Norm Stahl, Past President CRLA

I can still recall the very place and time when we first met as Frank came to Pitt to visit his sister Helen Christ-Stockmol and Al Berger. Helen and I were doc students together although she was a bit more senior in her studies, and hence, she seemed to be so much more professionally sophisticated.

I recall Frank was ever so gracious as he talked with me about the profession and his work on his study skills materials, which we had in the Pitt college reading center. Across the 35 or so years since that first meeting I always felt that the graciousness remained, and I came to appreciate is undying belief that learning assistance in its varied forms was a cornerstone of higher education.

While Frank’s passing is a great loss to the profession, we in our field and those within the greater field of higher education, whether as faculty, staff, or students, are far richer because of he passed our way.

I realize that his passing is particularly tough on you as he was both your mentor in so many ways and certainly a fine, fast friend as well. He will be missed, but he will be remembered with great fondness.

Be well…

3- Lois Martin

Director, Academic Resource & Writing Center Goshen College

I’m so sorry to hear. It would be hard to list all the ways he has influenced me in just a few years of work in the field of learning assistance. May he rest in peace and may his family be comforted.

2- Saundra McGuire, Ph.D.,
Assistant Vice Chancellor and Professor of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, LA

Frank was truly AMAZING! His warm and giving spirit, and his enthusiasm for taking the learning center community to higher levels are what I will always remember most about him. He was a mentor in every sense of the word, and was always providing insightful comments and suggestions.

In his last post to the listserv, on Friday, October 26th at 2:19 pm, he was encouraging a lister to call him “…to talk about how you can increase your presence on campus especially with faculty and staff.” I received my first email from Frank on Sunday, September 24, 2006 at 12:28 pm. Toward the end of his message he wrote “BTW, I wish that you would consider being active in either NCLCA or CRLA.” So I have Frank to thank for my participation in both of these wonderful organizations.

Frank gave us so many gems of wisdom through the listserv and by the wonderful presentations he made at our meetings. What a wonderful legacy he has left! I for one will go back and read his messages to us, and try to do some of the things he urged us to do. One, in particular, was in an email he sent back on January 14, 2012, in which he asked the question: “Should our professional journals move from copyright to a common license?”… I don’t know the ins and outs of publishing, but I DO know that Frank was passionate about allowing authors to retain the copyright to their articles upon publication. So I’d like to ask us to seriously consider this, if it is feasible to do. My question: Should our professional journals move from copyright to a common license? (see http://creativecommons.org/license)

We were truly blessed to have had such a wonderful spirit in our learning center community, and Frank will be sorely missed by all of us who knew and loved him. Both of my parents transitioned to their heavenly home in December, and we always said that they really knew the meaning of “going home for Christmas!”. I can just picture Frank now, helping the little ones from Sandy Hook learn how to be the best little angels!

Frank’s family is in my thoughts and prayers. I wish for all of you a wonderfully blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

1- Mon Nasser

Sad indeed. I will miss him. He gave me a lot of guidance and was one of the first contributors to the Learning Center Newsletter (later renamed Learning Center Exchange) when I started it in 2000. I always admired how he kept active in the field even in his later years and how much he cared about the learning assistance community. RIP Frank.

Curriculum Vitae of Frank L. Christ

Emeritus, CSU Long Beach

FIELDS OF SPECIAL COMPETENCE:

• Design and coordination of Learning Assistance Support Systems for college students and special adult populations such as veterans and returning adults; microcomputer systems for learning center operations, management, and evaluation; and training programs to develop Learning Assistance Center operational and administrative personnel.
• Personal learning skills counseling of college students form diagnosis, through prescription and follow-up.
• Design and implementation of faculty development programs to enhance teaching/learning environments and students’ learning skills both F2F and online courses.
• Design of support programs and materials to assist students in online courses to succeed academically
• Design and implementation of executive training programs in time management, reading as information processing, listening, creative thinking and problem solving.

ACADEMIC PREPARATION :

• Ladycliff College ( New York ): B.A. in English, Minors in Education and Psychology (1953)
• Loyola Graduate College ( Maryland ): M.A. in Education, 1956; Certificate in Reading (1961).
• Further graduate work at University of Maryland and the University of Southern California

TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

• Asst. Master of the Sword, United States Military Academy, 1946-53.
• Instructor and Assistant Professor of College English, Speech, Creative Writing, and Reading , Loyola College, 1953-60.
• Professional Lecturer in Reading , Loyola Graduate School, 1958-60.
• Assistant Professor English and Director of Great Books Program, St. Vincent College, 1960-63.
• Associate Professor Education and Lecturer in Industrial Relations, Loyola University of Los Angeles, 1964-69.
• Professional Lecturer in Learning Assistance Systems, UCLA Graduate Extension, Summer 1971; CSULB, 1973.
• Guest Lecturer, UC Berkeley Extension Summer Institutes for Learning Center Directors, 1979-82.
• Adjunct Professor for Reich College of Education, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC at the Kellogg Summer Institutes, 1980-87 and 2006.
• Adjunct Professor in Educational Psychology, CSU Long Beach Extension, Institutes for Learning Assistance Professionals, 1985-88.
• Guest Lecturer in Adult Learning Skills. Western International U (Psychology Course). Winter 1997, Spring 1998
• Guest Virtual Learning Support Center Specialist (Psychology 210), Cochise College . Fall 2000.
• Adjunct Professor of Educational Leadership, Grambling State University . (Online Graduate Courses) 2000–2005

ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE:

• Acting Head of English Department, Loyola College ( Baltimore , MD ), 1954-59
• Director of Great Books Program, St. Vincent College ( Latrobe , PA ), 1960-63.
• Director of Latrobe Reading-Study Skills Summer Program, 1961-63.
• Director of University Reading Clinic, Loyola University of Los Angeles, 1964-67.
• Director of Study Skills Center , Loyola University, 1967-71.
• Director of International Students, Loyola University 1967-72
• Director of Orientation Programs, Loyola University, 1966-69.
• Executive VP of Personal Efficiency Systems, Inc., 1969-73.
• President of Personal Efficiency Programs, 1981-2001
• Coordinator of Learning Assistance Support Systems, California State University Long Beach, 1972-88.
• Director of Summer Institutes for Learning Assistance Professionals, CSU Long Beach, 1985-88.
• Co-Director of Winter Institutes for Learning Assistance Professionals, University of Arizona , 1992- 2000
• Co-Director of Winter Institutes for Learning Assistance Professionals, University of Texas/Austin, 2001-2002

LEARNING ASSISTANCE CONSULTANT TO EDUCATION:

• Colleges and Universities (30), Community and Technical Colleges (32), High School Districts (8).

CONSULTING/TRAINING WITH BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY

• Magnavox Research Laboratories, 1966-67
• Ryan-Teledyne, 1970
• Southern California Edison , 1967-72
• Peter Kiewit Sons, 1968-87
• Personal Efficiency Systems, Inc., 1969-72
• United Air Lines, 1968
• Universal Consultants (Managenics), 1968-69
• Mattel Corp., 1981
• Xerox Learning Systems, 1970
• G.A. Brakeley & Co., 1971
• UC/SD Chapter ASTD Management Institute, 1971-76
• Kino Institute ( Phoenix ), 1995-96
• Analyst of Future Conference, Us Army Intelligence Center ( Fort Huachuca , AZ ), March 1998

PUBLICATIONS: BOOKS & MEDIA

American Catholicism And The Intellectual Ideal; (Co-editor), Appleton-Century Crofts, Inc., 1961. Winner of Inter-American Book Award in 1962.

Studying A Textbook, Science Research Associates, Inc., 1966.

Survey Of Study-Reading Efficiency (SRSE), Chicago : Science Research Associates, Inc., 1968.

SR/SE Resource Book, Chicago : Science Research Associates, Inc., 1969.

The Eleven Day Reading Program, Los Angeles : Personal Efficiency Systems, Inc., 1970. (Audio-workbook)

You Can Learn To Learn, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1980. (Series editor and co-author) (Sound filmstrip with workbook and instructor guide).

Survey Of Reading Study Efficiency II (SRSE). Seal Beach , CA : Personal Efficiency Programs, 1985 (computer program).

Survey Of High School Study Skills (SHSSS) (co-author). Seal Beach , CA : Personal Efficiency Programs, 1987 (computer program).

SRSE II Forms Processing Guide. Seal Beach , CA : Personal Efficiency Programs, 1986.

SRSE II Instructor Guide. Seal Beach , CA : Personal Efficiency Programs, 1986

SHSSS Teacher Guide. Seal Beach , CA : Personal Efficiency Programs, 1987.

Using Study Skills Surveys With Your Clients. Seal Beach , CA : Personal Efficiency Programs, 1988.

LINDEX (TM): On-Line Information Service. Seal Beach , CA : Personal Efficiency Programs, 1989 (electronic database).

Seven Steps To Better Management Of Your Study Time, Clearwater , FL : H & H Publishing Company, Inc., 1997

Memory Power For Facts And Concepts. Clearwater , FL : H & H Publishing Company, Inc., 2006

Writing A Term Paper Step-By-Step (Co-author). Clearwater , FL : H & H Publishing Company, Inc., 1997.

College Success: The First Week And Beyond. Clearwater , FL : H & H Publishing Company, Inc., 2000.

CRLA Monograph: Starting A Learning Assistance Center . (Senior editor and contributor). Clearwater , FL : H & H Publishing Company, Inc., 2000.

Co-author, (2006) Online Student Skills and Strategies Handbook. Boston : Pearson/Longman

Co-author, (2007). 100 Things Every Online Student Ought To Know, Second Edition NY: Cambridge Stratford Publishing.


PUBLICATIONS: Articles

“What Study Skills Do Secondary Students Need?” in Richard Maloney (ed.) READING IN CALIFORNIA : ISSUES AND EMERGING PRACTICES. Second Annual CRA Conference Proceedings, San Diego , 1967, pp. 105- 109.

“The SR/SE Laboratory: A Systems Approach to Reading/Study Skills Yearbook of the National Reading Conference), 1969, pp. 212-216.

“Organization, Development and Implementation of College Reading/Study Skills Programs: Some Assumptions and Conclusions” in Frank Christ (ed.) HOW CAN COLLEGE STUDENTS BE HELPED TO READ BETTER? Vol. II Proceedings of the Second Annual Conference of the Western College Reading Association, Los Angeles, 1970, pp. 59-64.

“Systems for Learning Assistance: Learners, Learning, and Facilitators, and Learning Centers” in Frank Christ (ed.) INTERDISCIPLINARY ASPECTS OF READING INSTRUCTION, Vol. IV, Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Conference of the Western College Reading Association, 1971, pp. 32-41. ED O31-368.

“Preparing Practitioners, Counselors and Directors of College Learning Assistance Centers. An Intensive Graduate Workshop” in Frank Greene (ed.) COLLEGE READING : PROBLEMS OF JUNIOR AND SENIOR COLLEGES (Twenty first Yearbook, National Reading Conference, Vol. II), 1972, pp. 179-188.

“Technological Alternatives in Learning” in Gene Kerstiens (ed.) TECHNOLOGICAL ALTERNATIVES IN LEARNING, Vol. VI, Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Conference of the Western College Reading Association, 1973, pp. 37-44.

“Learning Assistance Support Systems at California State University, Long Beach ” JOURNAL OF MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY, Vol. 18, No. 1 (Fall 1973), pp. 19-21.

“Learning Assistance at a State University: A Cybernetic Model” in Kurt Lauridsen (ed.) EXAMINING THE SCOPE OF LEARNING CENTERS, New Directions for College Learning Assistance, January 1980 (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc., Publishers), pp. 45-56.

“Computers in Learning Assistance Centers and Developmental Education: Beginning to Explore” JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL AND REMEDIAL EDUCATION, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Fall 1982), pp. 10-13.

“Learning Assistance at California State University Long Beach 1972-1984” JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION, Vol. 8, 2 (1984), pp. 2-5.

“Strengthening Your Study Skills” in Randy Zarn (editor) GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE. Long Beach , CA : CSU Long Beach , 1988, pp. 5-10.

Computers in post-secondary developmental education and learning, an ERIC document (ED 309743) with Richard McLaughlin, 1987, pp. 10.

“The Learning Assistance center as I Lived. It” in S. Mioduski and G. Enright (Eds.), proceedings of the 15th and16th Annual Institutes for Learning Asistance Professionals, 1995, pp. 35-39.

“Becoming a Part of the Learning Assistance Listserv: Questions and Answers,” CRLA NEWSLETTER (Vol. 20, Issue 2), Winter 1996-97, pp. 5, 18.

“Using MBO to Create, Develop, Improve, and Sustain Learning Assistance Programs,” in Mioduski, S. and G. Enright (Eds.), PROCEEDINGS OF THE 17th and 18th ANNUAL INSTITUTES FOR LEARNING ASSISTANCE PROFESSIONALS: 1996 AND 1997. Tucson , AZ : University Learning Center , University of Arizona , 1997.

“ How Do I Choose and Use Appropriate Instructional Resources for Students?” In Christ, F. L., Sheets, R., and K. Smith (Eds.). STARTING UP A LEARNING ASSISTANCE CENTER : CONVERSATIONS WITH CRLA MEMBERS WHO HAVE BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT. Clearwater , FL : H & H Publishing Company, Inc. 2000, pp. 60-62.

“How Do I Develop a Favorable Image for the LAC and How Do I Publicize the Programs and Services of the LAC?” In Christ, F. L., Sheets, R., and K. Smith (Eds.). STARTING UP A LEARNING ASSISTANCE CENTER : CONVERSATIONS WITH CRLA MEMBERS WHO HAVE BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT. Clearwater , FL : H & H Publishing Company, Inc., 2000, pp. 93-97

Do I dare to disturb your universe? REACHING OUT, 28 (1), 8. Retrievable at http://www.lsche.net/?page_id=2592

Challenging ourselves to achieve accountability, leadership, and recognition. NCLCA Newsletter, Winter 2001, 4-5. Retrievable at http:// www.pvc.maricopa.edu/~lsche/resources/articles/NCLCAknnewsltrvers.htm

“Increasing Retention, Satisfaction, and Success of Distance Learners with On-line and Campus Academic Support Programs and Services” Syllabus 2001, Santa Clara , CA , July 21, 2001 . Description at http://www.syllabus.com/summer2001/saturday_half_seminar.asp

Christ, F.L. “Academic Support” in Forest , James and Kevin Kinser, eds. (2002). Higher Education in the United States : An Encyclopedia (2 Volumes). Santa Barbara : ABC-CLIO. [ISBN: 1576072487]

Christ, F. L. (2007). Top Ten Countdown: Helping eLearners Succeed in Campus Technology (July, 2007). p. 58. https://campustechnology.com/articles/2007/07/helping-elearners-succeed.aspx



EDITORSHIPS AND RELATED CREATIVE ACTIVITY

• Western College Reading Association Proceedings: Vols. I-IV, (Editor), Los Angeles , WCRA, 1970, 1971.
• Reading Improvement Journal: Member of Editorial Board, 1969-73.
• Wcra Newsletter: Member of Editorial Advisory Committee, 1968-71.
• Journal Of Developmental And Remedial Education: Member of Editorial Board, 1979-89.
• Staff Development For Learning Support Systems: New Directions For College Learning Assistance (No. 4 – 1981), San Francisco: Jossey-Base, Inc., Publishers. (Co-editor with Margaret Coda-Messerle).
• Journal Of Developmental And Remedial Education: Columnist “TECHTALK” 1981-87.
• Editor and author: Learning Assistance Booklets (LAB Series), H & H Publishing Co., Clearwater , FL , 1999 –present
• Editor: Phoenix Learning Resources ( New York ) 1990–2005
• Co-founder of LRNASST listserv for post secondary learning assistance
• Co-founder and current editorial advisor and content editor for Learning Support in Higher Education (LSCHE) web portal < http://www.lsche.net/?page_id=11>
• Columnist. TechTalk,” in Journal of Developmental Education, 1981-87.
• Sustaining Columnist, “ Management Strategies & Tips.” Learning Center Newsletter Online at http://www.learningassistance.com/ 2000 – 2005

RECENT PRESENTATIONS

HorizonLive Webcast, “Fact or Fiction? Academic Support for On-Line Students: A Learning Support Center Viewpoint.”

The HorizonLive Desktop Lecture Series Archived at http://www.horizonlive.com/lecture/archive_lectures.html

“Student Learning Support: Faculty Use of Online Resources” to Cochise College faculty, October 24, 2000

“Some Thoughts on Computer Technology” to faculty of St. Gregory Prep, April 18, 2001

“ Increasing Retention, Satisfaction, and Success of Distance Learners with On-line and Campus Academic Support Programs and Services,” 3 hour seminar, Syllabus 2001, Santa Clara , CA , July 21, 2001

National College Learning Center Association (NCLCA). Luncheon keynote: “Challenging Ourselves to Achieve Accountability, Leadership, and Recognition.” Friday October 5, 2001 , Evanston , IL .

National College Learning Center Association (NCLCA). Concurrent Session: “Designing an Award Winning Learning Support Center Web Site.” October 3, 2001 , Evanston , IL .

National College Learning Center Association (NCLCA). Guest Presenter for Dr. Johanna Dvorak, Post Conference Workshop: “How Learning Support Centers can support online students.” October 5, 2001 , Evanston , IL .

CRLA Spokane . “ Learning Support Center Involvement in Online Education” October 2001, Spokane , WA . Abridged version published in CRLA Learning Assistance Center Management Special Interest Group Newsletter, Volume 1, Issue 1 (February 2002), pp. 1-2

TechEd Long Beach . “Achieving Student Retention, Satisfaction, and Success through Online Pedagogy.” February 26, 2002 . Abstract at http://www.techedevents.org/LongBeach/Proceedings/CS%20331.pdf

“Learning Support and On-line Student Support.” October 2, 2002 at NCLCA Annual Conference, St. Louis

“Learning Support Centers AKA Learning Assistance Centers from 1971 to 2002 and Beyond.” November 12, 2002 at CRLA Annual Conference, Minneapolis , MN .

“Learning Support On-Line: A Learning Support Center Program Priority.” November 13, 2002 at CRLA Annual Conference, Minneapolis , MN .

Keynote Address at Winter Institute 2003, Tucson , AZ Co-presented with Dr. Rick Sheets. January 6, 2003 .

Post Winter Institute Workshop: “Designing Online Courses for Student Success and Satisfaction.” January 8, 2003 .

California Virtual Campus /Online Student Support Services Joint Conference, San Diego . “The Role of LSC in Supporting Online Student Retention, Success, and Satisfaction” May 8, 2003.

Keynote Address at Association for Tutoring Professionals, April, 2007, Orlando , FL.

Keynote Address at San Diego Community College District Online Conference & Expo, April, 2007

Video Presentation for Starlink (Dallas Community College District) April, 2007

Keynote Presentation for Conference on Tutoring at USMA, West Point , NY August, 2007

Faculty Workshops for Western International University 2008

Webinar: Best Practices for Learning Support Centers


MEMBERSHIP/PARTICIPATION IN PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

• Past President, Baltimore Council (MD) of International Reading Association, 1956-57; South Bay Council, 1965-66.
• Past President, Western College Reading Association, 1968-69. Life Member, College Reading & Learning Association
• Member, National Reading Conference, 1960-74.
• Member, International Reading Association, Los Angeles and Orange County Chapters, 1955-87.
• Member, American Society for Training and Development, 1966-75 and 1979- 85.
• Member, American Personnel and Guidance Association, 1976-86.
• Member, National Association for Remedial and Developmental Studies in Post-Secondary Education, 1979 to 1991.
• Member, National Advisory Board: Microcomputers and Basic Skills in College (Annual Conference, New York City, Spring 1984), 1983-84.
• Member, Arizona Distance Learning Association 1998 –2000
• Member, Cochise County Distance Learning Consortium 2000 — 2005
• Member, National College Learning Center Association 2000 — present

MEMBERSHIP AND ACTIVITY IN COMMUNITY

• Boy Scouts of America : Scoutmaster, Committeeman, Neighborhood Commissioner, District Leadership Trainer, Woodbadger, 1945-1970.
• Tutorial Consultant for La Causa Youth Center ( Venice ), 1969-70.
• Board Member, Long Beach Museum of Art Alliance , 1975-82.
• Founder and Director OPEN Computer Club ( Long Beach , CA ) 1983 – 1986.
• Co-Director: First through Third Annual High Desert Master Gardeners Conferences, Sierra Vista, AZ, 1994 -1996.
• Board Member, University of Arizona South Foundation Board, 1998–2000

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

• Recipient of Inter-American Book Award for American Catholicism And The Intellectual Ideal, 1962.
• Awarded Distinguished Leadership Award, 1970 and Distinguished Service Award, 1972, Western College Reading Association.
• Recipient of Chancellor’s Innovative Fund Grant for Learning Assistance Support Systems, 1972-73 and 1973-74.
• Presented the Distinguished Faculty Lecture to Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi at Initiation Banquet at CSU Long Beach , Spring 1980.
• Recipient of John Champaign Memorial Award for Outstanding Learning Assistance Program from National Association for Remedial and Developmental Studies in Post-Secondary Education, March 1983.
• Recipient of the 1985 WCRLA Long and Outstanding Service Award
• Recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from ACCTLA, 1993
• Founding Fellow in Learning Assistance, The American Council of Developmental Education Associations ( ACDEA2000)
• Recipient of the Jade Award for 35 years of service from College Reading Learning Association (CRLA), 2002.
• Annual NCLCA Learning Center Award named the ” Frank L Christ Award” beginning in 2003.
• Recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award from ACTLA, 2006
• Listed in Directory Of American Scholars, Fourth Ed.,Vol.II,1964.Listed in Directory Of International Biography, Eighth Ed., 1971.
• Listed in Who’s Who In The West (17th Edition), 1989.Listed in Who’s Who In American Education, 1989-90.

Current to January 2009



Appendix: LEARNING ASSISTANCE CONSULTANT TO EDUCATION



Secondary Education

Lennox School District, 1965-66 Inglewood Unified School District 1966-67

South Bay Union District,1967 Bishop Montgomery H. S. 1967-68

Lynwood HS, 1969 La Canada H.S. District 1969

Newport Mesa Unified School Long Beach Unified School District

District 1976 1976, 1982, 1983, 1988

St. Gregory College Prep 2001

Community and Technical Colleges

El Camino College, 1967,1969 Ventura College , 1969

Marymount College at Palos Rio Hondo College, 1972-73

Verdes, 1967 Miami Dade Comm. College , 1974

Bakersfield College , 1974-75 Kapiolani Community College , 1974

Honolulu Comm. College , 1975 Windward Comm. College , 1975

Long Beach City College, 75-76 Maui Comm. College , 1975, 1977

Leeward Comm. College , 1975, 1977, 1982 Kauai Comm. College , 1975, 1982

Minneapolis Comm. College , 1981

Spokane Falls College , 1981 Spokane Comm. College , 1981

Cerritos C. C. 1981, 1989 Milwaukee Area Tech. College , 1980

Cochise College , 1986, 2002 Hinds Comm. College District, 1988

Grossmont College , 1978 Santa Ana College , 1979

Pasadena City College , 1982 Santa Barbara City College , 1983

Chapman College , 1980 Scottsdale Community College , 1987

Paradise Valley College , 1987 San Diego City College , 1983

Florida CC Jacksonville, 1988 Paradise Valley CC, 1987

Phoenix Comm. College , 1987 Central Arizona College , 1993

Cochise College , AZ (2000)

Pima Community College District 2003 Everett Community College 2003

South Plains College , TX (2005). San Diego Community College District 2007



Four Year Colleges and Universities

UCLA Counseling Ctr., 1965-66 Texas Southern University, 1967

CSU San Diego Extension, 1971-72 UC San Diego Extension, 1971-76

U Southern California , 1972-73 Stanford University , 1972

Fresno State College, 1972 U of HI (Manoa), 1973-75

UC Santa Barbara, 1975 NM State U ( Las Cruces ),1975-76

Eastern NM State University , Governor’s State University , 1976

(Roswell & Portales),1976 Chaminade College ( Honolulu ),1977

Bartlesville Wesleyan College , UC San Diego , 1988

( Oklahoma ), 1982 Southwest Texas University , 1978

Mundelein College , 1980 University of Pittsburgh , 1982

Loyola of Chicago , 1980 U Colorado Health Sciences Center , 1989

CSU Los Angeles , 1987 Wollongong University , 1987

Louisiana State University , 1989 University of Arizona, 1994-2003

Grambling State University 2005 University of Arizona South 2006

Other
CSP Institute ( Claremont ),1969 Higher Ed. Executive Assn., 1970

National Learning Systems, 1982 Interactive Education, Inc.,1972

WICHE Pan Ethnic Center , 1977 CSU Center for Innovative Programs, 1988

Special Consultant in Learning Assistance Center Development & management to CSU Institutions, 1972-76

Gwyn Enright taught reading, composition, critical thinking, and literature as a professor in the English Department at San Diego City College. She had twenty years of learning center experience at both the two and four year college and university level. She designed and implemented learning assistance centers at CSU-Northridge and San Diego City College.

Gwyn Enright was a frequent presenter and mentor at the Winter Institutes and contributed several chapters to the book Starting a Learning Assistance Center.

She also directed a cooperative developmental writing program coordinated between San Diego State University and San Diego City College. Gwyn was past president of the College Reading and Learning Association. She has served as editor of the Journal of College Reading and Learning and Proceedings of the Western College Reading Association. Gwyn also served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Reading, and the Journal of Development Education.

Gwyn began teaching in the 1970’s at San Diego City College in the English Department and was a pro-rata faculty after retiring. She served the campus on numerous committees and was an online faculty mentor for many years. Her dedication to her students and to the campus will always be remembered by her friends, colleagues, and the students she inspired.

Dr. Susan E. (Hartman) Hashway, 63, formerly of RI, passed away at home in Ruston, LA on Friday, June 8, 2012. She was the wife of the late Dr. Robert Hashway.

Born and raised in West Warwick, she was a daughter of the late Leslie A. and Barbara W. (Davis) Hartman.

Susan was a College Professor at Grambling State University in Grambling, Louisiana. Prior to moving to Louisiana, she was a mathematics teacher in the West Warwick School system.

She is survived by three sisters, Janice Hartman Curtain and husband Leroy of Palm Harbor, FL, Joan Hartman Lisee and husband Remi of Weare, New Hampshire and Betty Hartman Gould of Richmond, RI and numerous nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her brother George Albert Hartman.

Our dear colleague, friend, and former NADE president Dr. Susan Hashway, will be remembered for her inspiration and dedication to her undergraduate and graduate students at Grambling State University where she had recently retired as a professor in mathematics. Her distinct New England accent came from her native Rhode Island where she taught junior and high school mathematics. Her strong family background steeped in a love for family with three sisters she adored, cultivated a resilient respect for intellectual excellence accented with her charming wit and humor. Never one to seek the spotlight, she served our profession with honor as NADE president in 2004-2005 and her state chapter as president in 2000-2001.

With sadness I report to our professional community that Dr. Hashway was found deceased in her home near Ruston, LA on June 8, 2012, as a result of an apparent home invasion. Her tragic death should not replace her life of joy and caring that many of us shared with her.

Dr. Hashway was preceded in death by her husband Robert Hashway (also a professor at Grambling State University) in 2004. Dr. Hashway was active in the Monroe, Louisiana Symphony Orchestra Board of Governors where she served as an officer. She also was the managing editor of the Educational Research Quarterly, which she produced in her dining room with her loving cats by her side. If you visited her home it became apparent these loving creatures ruled. She also thought of her students (including me) as part of her family and spent many hours dedicated to assisting and mentoring us all.

Much of my dissertation was written under her loving guidance. I remember sitting on her front porch gazing at the ducks in the lake across the road and feeling ever so blue as I had the typical writer’s block. Noticing my struggle, Dr. Hashway insisted we watch a video titled Racing Stripes, a movie about a zebra that thought it was a racehorse. In a moment of pure insight, my research design began to emerge. Dr. Hashway knew this would become a metaphor for my students’ enrolled in developmental education and thus my research design on assessment was born.

Her strong-held belief that students should never be limited by their life circumstance (or assessment scores) was her greatest lesson to me. How many zebras are really racehorses within your mist? I know what Dr. Hashway would say.

Dr. Rebecca Goosen
Student of Dr. Susan Hashway

Susan’s death is a great loss to those of us who knew her and worked with her. For others who did not know Susan personally, she was a major contributor to developmental education through her connection with NADE as its president, as the publisher and editor of the journal, and on a student level as a professor of mathematics at Grambling State University. Please join LSCHE in this public remembrance of Susan.

Collegially…
Frank L Christ, Emeritus, CSULB

I am truly saddened by Susan’s passing. I got to know her when she served as NADE’s president. She was a true servant of our field.

Patricia R. Eney
English Instructor
College of Lake County

In the spring of 1976, a small group of college and university professionals from the Chicago area met to discuss their work in the field becoming known as developmental education. As an outgrowth of this meeting, the participants decided to establish a professional association for developmental educators. Dr. Gary Saretsky of Chicago State University and Dr. Harold Hild of Northern Illinois University were elected as the association’s first president and vice president. They continued to serve in this capacity until 1981 while a constitution and by-laws were developed.

The following post to the LRNASST-L listserv was made on January 16, 2009 by Dr. Rick Sheets, Past President of CRLA.

“It is with regret that I inform you of the passing on January 2nd, 2009 of one of CRLA’s founding members, fifth President (’71-’72) and beloved colleague: Dr. Gene Kerstiens. Gene has been a leader and mentor in the field of developmental education, was the Director of Andragogy Associates, and the co-author of the assessment tool Study Behavior Inventory. Gene served as Professor of English/Reading and Associate Dean of Instruction at El Camino College (CA); Acting Director at the National Center for Developmental Education, Appalachian State University (NC); and Director of the Learning Assistance Center, Scottsdale Community College (AZ). Gene was CRLA president-elect and conference chair for the 1971 conference in Los Angeles, California. Gene was recognized for CRLA’s Long and Outstanding Service in 1984, named a Fellow of the ACDEA in 2000, and awarded the 2002 CRLA Board Special Recognition Award (Jade Award 35th Anniversary Award). He also served as the editor of the Review of Research in Developmental Education, the Journal of College Reading and Learning, and as the Advisory Editor of the Journal of Reading. Gene is survived by his wife Dorothy and family. Many of us in the field will remember and miss Gene’s presence and discussions on assessment, learning assistance, and developmental education at our annual and regional conferences!

Christ, F. L. In Memoriam. Journal of College Reading and Learning. Volume 40, Number 1, Fall 2009. Pp. 11-13

I first met Gene in 1966. It happened when Carroll Edwards, my SRA publishing rep called me to let me know that a reading conference would be taking place at San Bernardino Community College , hosted by Gil Williams, the director of its learning center. and that I might be interested in attending this conference. He told me that a reading instructor from El Camino College had indicated that he would be attending. I was then at Loyola University in Los Angeles as the director of its reading clinic and of a small study skills center. . Although I did not know Gene Kerstiens, the El Camino reading instructor, I called him and asked if I could ride to SBCC with him to attend the conference. He agreed to take me and picked me up at my home in Torrance . BTW, it was at this reading conference that WCRA was born and that Gene argued successfully that college and university reading and study skills instructors could be members of this new association. If it had not been for Gene, WCRA might only have accepted members from community colleges and the new association would have been called the Southern Reading Association. You can read Gene’s description of this first conference in his foreword to the first WCRA major publication in the Combined Proceedings of the First, Second, and Third Annual Conferences which Gene edited.

As Gene has said so many times, the trip from Torrance to San Bernardino was for him, an English and Reading Instructor, an eye opener to a concept then new to him, that of college learning assistance as it served students in a campus center. He was so taken with this idea that upon his return to El Camino, Gene decided to leave the English department and focus his energy on developing a learning assistance center for his institution. And that he did. His center became a model for community colleges not only in California but nationwide with many visitors from community colleges. Throughout Gene’s professional life, more than any other professional, he was the dominant force in promoting learning centers at the community college level and especially centers that focused on helping developmental students.

As a mentor, Gene helped many learning center colleagues especially those who caught his enthusiasm for learning centers. These included Gwyn Enright who later became a center director at a CSU institution and at a major community college in San Diego , the 21st president of

WCRLA, and a major force in developing a rigorous approach to student assessment and program evaluation.

Our association that began on that trip to San Bernardino deepened as Gene began to bring WCRA to life in its formative years and this collegial association that began with WCRA continued for the next 40 years. Gene’s awards from CRLA included the “Long and Outstanding Service Award in 1984, a Founding Fellow of the American Council of Developmental Associations nominee in 2000 and In 2002, the JADE 35th Anniversary Award for his extraordinary dedication to CRLA,

Like many of Gene’s colleagues, I was in frequent touch with him not only at conferences but through many telephone and email conversations about learning assistance. As a colleague to many learning center directors and mentor to many new learning assistance professionals, Gene encouraged them to telephone him at his home with any questions or problems. In addition, Gene was always available to help others face to face not only at the many CRLA conferences that he attended but especially at the conference’s evening hospitality hours or “Friday Night Literary Society” meetings as they were known then. Gene was frequently the last CRLA member to leave these meetings. Many of us can remember Gene’s passion and expertness as he discussed current learning assistance problems and challenges. Gene not only knew what problems there were in learning assistance, he had practical solutions to fix or abate them. After 2003, Gene became less active in CRLA. But continued to be available by telephone and email.

As a rigorous researcher and critic, Gene published reviews of speeded reading comprehension tests, time-critical reading comprehension tests, models and foundations of developmental education, open enrollment and college reading skills programs, and directions for research and innovation in community college reading programs. Most of Gene’s writings can be retrieved through ERIC as one can see by using Google Scholar and placing his name, ” Gene Kerstiens,” in its search box to yield more than 40 items. Many of his ERIC works can be accessed in LSCHE on the “In Memoriam” pages for Gene.

Gene impacted on developmental education not only with his writings and research but also as a presenter at Kellogg Institutes and as an interim director of the National Center for Developmental Education at Appalachian State University .

Gene was a series editor for Educulture, developing in 1977 one of the first learning assistance media programs, Mini-Courses in Academic Skills These media programs combined audio and workbooks and were used at hundreds of community colleges Gene also served as the editor of the Review of Research in Developmental Education, the Journal of College Reading and Learning, and as the Advisory Editor of the Journal of Reading. In his last years, Gene, as Andagogy Associates, a company that he founded, became involved with the Study Behavior Inventory as a consultant and as its marketing company.

If I were to sum up Gene’s professional life, a life of over 40 active years, I would use the following words: collegial, intellectually challenging, mentor, author, editor, administrator, researcher, critic, and above all a colleague and for many in developmental education and learning assistance, a caring friend.

Frank L. Christ, colleague and friend

Emeritus, CSU Long Beach Director of its Learning Assistance Support System

Induction as a Founding Fellow Biography

Dr. Gene Kerstiens was one of the founding members of the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA), fifth President (’71-’72) of CRLA and beloved colleague. Gene has been a leader and mentor in the field of developmental education and Director of Andragogy Associates, and co-author of the assessment tool Study Behavior Inventory . Gene served as Professor of English/Reading and Associate Dean of Instruction at El Camino College (CA); Acting Director at the National Center for Developmental Education, Appalachian State University (NC); and Director of the Learning Assistance Center , Scottsdale Community College (AZ). Gene was CRLA president-elect and conference chair for the 1971 conference in Los Angeles , California . Gene was recognized for CRLA’s Long and Outstanding Service in 1984, named a Fellow of the ACDEA in 2000, and awarded the 2002 CRLA Board Special Recognition Award. He served as editor of Review of Research in Developmental Education , Journal of College Reading and Learning , and Advisory Editor of the Journal of Reading .”

Books and Media Materials

Kerstiens, G. (1970). Junior-community college reading/study skills. An annotated bliography. Newark, DE, International Reading Association.

Dissertation

Kerstiens, G. (1978). The effect of a typical community college developmental reading course on phonic disablement of students. (Doctoral dissertation, Nova University, 1978). (ERIC Document Report No. ED148422)

Articles

Kerstiens, G. (1969, December). Open enrollment: challenge to the college reading/skills program . Paper presented at the 19th annual meeting of the National Reading Conference, Atlanta, GA. (ERIC Document Report No. ED038246)

Kerstiens, G. (1970).Western College Reading Association: From Necessity to Reality. In F.L. Christ (editor). Combined Proceedings of the First, Second, and Third Annual Conferences. Los Angeles: Western College Reading Association. vii-viii.

Kerstiens, G. (1971). Directions for research and innovation in junior college reading programs. (ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED046396)

Kerstiens, G. (1971). Smorgasbord: junior college reading list. Journal of Reading, 15 (1), 32-35

Kerstiens, G. (1971, December). The ombudsman function of the college learning center . Paper presented at the 21st annual meeting of the National Reading Conference, Tampa, FL. (ERIC Document Report No. ED055589

Kerstiens, G. (1972). The ombudsman function of the college learning center. In F. Greene (Ed.), College reading: Problems and programs of junior and senior colleges. Twenty-first yearbook of the National Reading Conference, 2, 221-227.
Kerstiens, G. (1972, March). College reading: where it is. Paper presented at the 5th annual meeting of the Western College Reading Association, Reno, NV. (ERIC Document Report No. ED065843)

Kerstiens, G. (1975). The new learners: Focus for the future. In R. E. Sugimoto (Ed.) College Learning Skills Today and Tomorrowland . Anaheim, CA: Western College Reading Association. (ERIC Document Report No. ED117680)

Kerstiens, G. (1976). Report on the peer tutoring program, 1973-1975 school years. Torrance, CA: El Camino College. (ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED130698)

Kerstiens, G. (1976). Tutor perceptions as an agent for policy change. North Miami Beach, FL: Nova University. (ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED131878)

Kerstiens, G. (1977). A preliminary assessment of the enrollment pattern, motivation, and course effectiveness for students completing learning skills minicourses. North Miami Beach, FL: Nova University. (ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED231450)

Kerstiens, G. (1977). Attitudes of middle-management administrators concerning collective bargaining in a community college. Torrance, CA: El Camino College. (ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED136883)

Kerstiens, G. (1978). Yet another look at college developmental reading courses. Torrance, CA: El Camino College. (ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED166656)

Kerstiens, G. (1983). Evaluation of the policies, practices and procedures: cooperative career education program. Torrance, CA: El Camino College. (ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED231450)

Kerstiens, G. (1986). A testimonial on timed testing: developmental students and reading comprehension tests. In M. P. Douglass (Ed.) Reading: The Quest for Meaning; Proceedings of the Claremont Reading Conference. Fiftieth Yearbook . Claremont , CA: Claremont Graduate School. (ERIC Document Report No. ED278004)

Kerstiens, G. (1986, April). Time-critical reading comprehension tests and developmental students. Paper presented at the 67th annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco. (ERIC Document Report No. ED 278700)
Kerstiens, G. (1990). A Slow Look at Speeded Reading Comprehension Tests. Review of Research in Developmental Education, 7 (3). ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED317548)

Kerstiens, G. (1990). Upgrading basic skills for the workplace. [Review of the book Upgrading basic skills for the workplace]. Journal of Reading, 33 , 572-573. (ERIC Document Reproduction No ED309297)

Kerstiens, G. (1993). Postsecondary student assessment and placement: History, status, direction. In Mioduski, S. and G. Enright (Eds. ) Proceedings of the 13th and 14th Annual Institutes for Learning Assistance Professionals , 56-62
Kerstiens, G. (1995). A Taxonomy of Learning Support Services. In Mioduski, S. and G. Enright (Eds. ). Proceedings of the 15th and 16th Annual Institutes for Learning Assistance Professionals, 48-51
Kerstiens, G. (1998). Studying in college, then & now: an interview with Walter Pauk. Journal of Developmental Education, 21 (3), 20-2+.

Kerstiens, Gene. (2000). How Do I Assess What Programs and Services Are Needed For Our Students in Christ, F.L., Sheets, Rick, and Smith, K. Starting A Learning Assistance Center: Conversations with CRLA members who have been there and done that. H & H Publishing Company, Inc. Pp. 51-53.

Kerstiens, G. (2001). Foreword: The active learner: successful study strategies . Cary, NC, Roxbury Publishing Company.

Kerstiens, Gene. (2002). On the Lighter Side: What I’ve Learned at College Reading and Learning Association Conferences The Learning Center Newsletter (September, 2002 issue)

Co-authored Articles

Boylan, H. R., & Kerstiens, G. (1988). Models and foundations of developmental education. Boone, NC: Appalachian State University, Center for Developmental Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED136883)

Boylan, H. R., & Kerstiens, G. (1989). Assessment. Boone, NC: Appalachian State University, Center for Developmental Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED341430)


Editor

Kerstiens, G. (Ed.). (1972). Reading: Putting all the cards on the table: proceedings of the annual conference of the Western College Reading Association (5th ed). Torrance, CA: El Camino College.

Kerstiens, G. (Ed.). (1973). Technological alternatives in learning: Proceedings of the annual conference of the Western College Reading Association (6th ed). Torrance, CA: El Camino College. (ERIC DocumenReport No. ED080947)

Kerstiens, G. (Ed.). (1974). Reading–update: ideals to reality (7th ed). Torrance, CA: Western College Reading Association.

Note: Dr. Kerstiens also served as the editor of the Review of Research in Developmental Education,the Journal of College Reading and Learning, and as the Advisory Editor of the Journal of Reading.



Book Reviews

Kerstiens, G. (1983). Rapid reading for professional success. [Review of the book Rapid reading for professional success ]. Journal of Reading, 27, 89.

Kerstiens, G. (1985). Effective reading: improving reading rates and comprehension. [Review of the book Effective reading: improving reading rates and comprehension ]. Journal of Reading, 29, 278-279.


Recognition & Awards

CRLA Long and Outstanding Service (1984)

Person of the Month in October 2000 Issue of The Learning Center Newsletter
Founding Fellow (2000) of the American Council of Developmental Education Associations (ACDEA)
CRLA Jade Anniversary Award (2002)


*Most of the items in this bibliography were compiled by Dr. David Caverly, Texas State University

The Martha Maxwell Story (in her own words)

In 1939, I enrolled as a freshman at the University of Maryland but left college in 1942 and became a war bride. Later, I went back to finish my bachelor’s degree in psychology and economics after WWII along with the returning veterans who said “Martha, you still here?” I earned a Masters in counseling psychology in 1948 and then accepted a job at the counseling center at American University . At A.U. I taught a night course in reading improvement for adults and started a reading lab. (With a job that paid $3000 per year for 12 months, I was not about to refuse because I had no preparation and experience in teaching reading).

After leaving AU in 1950 to have children, I worked part-time – counseled returning GIs at the University of Baltimore and worked at miscellaneous research jobs. In 1952, I returned to the University of Maryland to teach what today would be called developmental reading improvement and study skills courses in the College of Special and Continuing Education – a program for on-trial students, those whose high school averages were less than C.

In 1955, I became the director of the reading and study skills lab at the University of Maryland Counseling Center and also taught undergraduate psychology courses and worked on a Ph.D. in education/psychology that I eventually finished in 1960. Then I remained as Director of the Reading and Study Skills Center , taught graduate courses in counseling and education and headed a new summer program for on-trial students.

In 1968, I moved to the counseling center at U.C. Berkeley to establish their first reading and study skills lab. just in time for the riots and peace marches. Yes, someone did tear- gas the reading lab. and we had other incidents like a Molotov cocktail left on the steps of our old wooden building, that somehow it sputtered out and didn’t do much damage I also taught graduate courses in the College of Education, taught a number of extensions courses, evaluated professional programs and started a Summer Institute for Learning Assistance Professionals which ran from 1976 to 1982.

Since retiring from Berkeley in 1979, I kept busy writing, consulting, speaking at conferences, serving as a mentor for MCLCA, Winter Institute, and Kellogg addressing and so on. From 1993 to 1997, I represented the College Reading and Learning Association on the Council for the Advancement of Standards, and recently chaired an Ad-hoc Committee on Adapting the Education 2000-Standards and Assessment for English Language Arts to Colleges, helped revise the CAS Standards for Learning Assistance Program.

Professional Activities :
President, College Reading Association, 1961, boards of directors for College Reading Association, National Reading Conference, EXXON Grant, ( National Center for Developmental Education) and others. During the NRC period, I often presented lectures on “Sexism in the Basal Readers” complete with color slides and a “Mother Goose” costume. Other professional positions: secretary of the MD Psychological Association, Secretary California College Personnel Association; Fellow – American Psychological Association (counseling division), listed in Who’s Who of American Educators (Women),Who’s Who in American Publications, American Men of Science (when I entered ,they didn’t expect women to join.); reviewer for Reading World , Journal of Reading , The Journal of Developmental Education , Journal of College Reading and Learning , and The Learning Assistance Review ; principal investigator on a NSF Grant, An Evaluation Model for Continuing Education Programs in Engineering ; winner of the NADE Publication Award in 1979, and the Hunter R. Boylan Research & Publication Award.

Martha founded learning centers at American University five decades ago, at the University of Maryland, 30 years ago, and the University of California-Berkeley in 1973. The Annual Institute for Learning Assistance Professionals (now the Winter Institute) began under her direction in 1977 and the first six institutes were held summers at UC Berkeley.

BOOKS : My first book was called Understanding Your Baby – a friend paid to have 1000 copies published and placed a small ad in Parent Magazine . When the ad sold only one copy, he gave me back the other 999 copies. Since then, my books have done a bit better. Improving Skimming and Scanning (McGraw-Hill, 1969), Improving Student Learning Skills: A Comprehensive Guide to Successful Practices and Programs for Increasing the Performance of Underprepared Students (Jossey-Bass, 1979), Improving Student Learning Skills: A Revised Edition . (H&H Publishing, 1997), Evaluating Academic Skills Programs: A Source Book (MM Associates, 1991, 1996) (edited.) When Tutor Meets Student: Experiences in Collaborative Learning . (MM Associates, 1990); (Second Edition, University of Michigan Press, 1994), (edited) From Access to Success: Readings in College Developmental Education and Learning Assistance (H&H Publishing Co. Winter 1994) and more than 150 articles.

MAJOR ARTICLES (Go to Articles & Presentations on the LSCHE pages and scroll down to Maxwell.

The Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations (CLADEA) is pleased to announce that the CLADEA Executive Board, which includes leaders from CLADEA’s member organizations, has approved a book project honoring the memory of Dr. Martha Maxwell. This book will be the first of its kind—honoring Martha’s vision featuring chapters from the CLADEA Fellows, and is intended to inform postsecondary educators about the most outstanding work within our learning assistance and developmental education profession.Dr. Jeanne Higbee has graciously agreed to serve as editor of the book without compensation (and CLADEA has formally approved Higbee as editor), and Dr. Hunter Boylan has offered the expertise of the National Center for Developmental Education (NCDE) to publish the book.

After several drafts of writing this tribute that included some humorous encounters, I have done my best to keep it short and to the point… in honor of Martha who in my experience, was short and to the point.
My relationship with Martha over the last two decades consisted of short conversations, emails, and insight rather than flowery conversations over tea or a good meal. I could always count on her talking about the book she was working on for a minute or two, and then spending several minutes asking me how I was, where I was, what I was doing and somehow ending the interaction by asking how my book was coming along. I remember finally having the chutzpah to ask Martha at a conference years ago, what made her think I should write a book? “Cbecause you have something different to say. What you have to say makes sense and others should hear it.” The shade of red I turned and the sounds stumbling out of my mouth were nothing compared to the enormous grin that had just circled my heart two times over. MARTHA MAXWELL thought I had something of value to say, to add to the profession. And she wasn’t saying that to me to be nice! (During my entire relationship with Martha, she had always been honest, sincere, to the point, and never said anything to me just to be nice.)

The first time Martha showed up to one of my three hour conference presentations I wondered what she was doing there; if maybe the workshop she wanted to attend was down the hall. For the first ten minutes, she was the only person I kept seeing out of the corner of my eye. I have no idea what I was talking about up until then but I do remember getting the nod of agreement from Dr. Maxwell on the key points I was about to cover in the presentation. Her simple nod shut off my sweat glands for the rest of the workshop. Martha came up to me afterwards, thanked me for the presentation and said something to the effect of “good job” and “do write that book” and then shuffled out.

Whoever said that a few words couldn’t make a difference in a person’s life, didn’t meet my Dr. Maxwell. Whether it was at conferences or through phone calls and emails, Martha over the years never failed to ask how I was doing and how my book was coming along. She would pick up our conversation from wherever we left off and engage me in short yet meaningful dialogue: Dialogue that was long enough to let me know that she believed in me and what I had to offer students and colleagues in this field. Years later, I am still passing on that gift to students (and now colleagues)… the power and compassion of believing in them until they fully believe in themselves. Finally, with the assistance of a colleague and the words of Martha reverberating in my mind, I garnered the courage to publish my second project (14 years in the making), The Tutor Revue. It was a project that complimented her book “When Tutor Meets Student.”

Now it was my turn to show the teacher what her student had learned. Martha received the first copyV complete with an inscription and heartfelt gratitude. Our relationship had come full circle.

There are very few people in my professional life that I would consider a mentor, however, Martha Maxwell is one. You could say, she was even my hero. I will miss her honesty, wisdom, fortitude, foresight, and dry sense of humor. Most of all, I will miss her.

Karin E. Winnard
San José State University, CA

I was indeed very excited to see Martha receive the NCLCA Lifetime Achievement Award at the recent conference. As a learning center professional, I am very thankful for Martha’s early ground-breaking work in the field of developmental education, tutoring, and especially learning assistance
centers. I have often referred to her helpful passages of text in the course of my studies. It was nice to see Martha recognized among her distinguished colleagues for her fine efforts, and I very much enjoyed this special tribute.”

…..Laura Mattingly
Midlands Technical College, Columbia, SC

A natural mentor, who was very dedicated and always willing to share ideas and insights. She is missed by those who had a chance to see her, meet her, or talk with her. Her writings remain foundational to the fields of learning assistance and developmental education.

Rick Sheets
LSCHE Co-founder

Vashti Underwood Muse, 76, died July 9, 2010.

Mrs. Muse was the beloved first lady of Hinds Community College, a renowned educator, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and the love of husband Clyde Muse's life. Mrs. Muse was born in Sebastopol on August 21, 1933. She was reared in Leland and has lived in Canton, Starkville, Jackson, Meridian and Raymond.

Mrs. Muse dedicated her entire life to serving others through education and had a very positive impact in each of the communities where she lived and worked. A former public elementary school teacher (1961-1978, Starkville, Hinds and Lauderdale Counties), Mrs. Muse was an innovator in the area of basic reading programs. Vashti Muse in 1980 became a member of the Hinds Community College reading faculty soon after her husband, Dr. Clyde Muse, became president of the college.

Mrs. Muse enriched her teaching by continued study in the field of developmental education. She held both bachelor's and master's degrees in Elementary Education from Mississippi State University and a Developmental Education Specialist Certificate from Appalachian State University. She taught reading on the Raymond Campus until her retirement in 1996. She served as an adjunct instructor since her retirement and was awarded emeritus status by the college in 2007.

She worked tirelessly with the state and national associations for developmental education (MADE and NADE) and served those organizations in a number of offices including current president of NADE.
She received many awards and recognition for her work in developmental education. These included an invitation to contribute a chapter to "Inspiring Teaching: Carnegie Professors of the Year Speak," (Motivating and Mentoring: Teaching Developmental Students); and the 1999 NADE Award for Outstanding Service to Developmental Education. In 2006, she became the first recipient of the Vashti U. Muse Outstanding Developmental Educator Award that was established in her honor by MADE; and in 2007 she received the Red Rose Award from the Tau Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International.

In addition, she was awarded the Kellogg Institute Leadership Scholarship (1986), which she used to train for higher levels of excellence in her teaching. She was named CASE (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education) Professor of the Year in 1994; in 1995, she received the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Southern Regional Faculty Member Award and in 1996, she received the coveted ACCT William H. Meardy Faculty Member Award.

In 2006 Belhaven University honored Dr. and Mrs. Muse for their indelible mark on the educational landscape of this state by beginning the Clyde and Vashti Muse Scholarship program for students transferring from Hinds to Belhaven.

In 1980, Hinds Community College recognized Mrs. Muse's dedication with the 3-E Award (Emphasis on Excellence and Enrichment) for Outstanding Service to the College. Other HCC awards include Outstanding/Distinguished Academic Instructor Awards and the Lamplighter Project for Outstanding Faculty, both in 1990. She was nominated by a student and received the Life Star Award recognizing her service to all students in 2008. Also, in 2008 she received the Alumni Service Award given by the Hinds Alumni Association. In 2009, she was recognized by Baptist Health Systems with the Strong Woman Award, the Defender category.

In April of 2010, the Mississippi Legislature presented a joint resolution recognizing Mrs. Muse and her tremendous impact on education in the State of Mississippi.

Mrs. Muse's greatest service to the college and the community was her devotion to her students. For more than 50 years, Vashti Muse was the underdog's champion who made sure that at-risk students had an opportunity to succeed. Her passion for helping underprepared students began when teaching first grade students. That first experience of "teaching a child to love learning" fueled her lifelong commitment to developmental education. While most educators prefer to work with the best and brightest, Mrs. Muse preferred to work with the educationally disadvantaged. Students in Mrs. Muse's reading classes were not prepared for college work and often were not prepared for life. She went beyond the everyday duties of a teacher and became personally involved with her students. She showed them that she cared not only about their success in the classroom, but also about their success in life. Through her dedication and determination, Hinds now offers a full program in developmental education for those not prepared for college work.

As the wife of the college president, Mrs. Muse worked with numerous college activities and committees and served as hostess for many college events such as dinners and receptions in her home and on campus. She was a faithful supporter of many student activities on all six locations of Hinds Community College. She was the founder of the Hinds Hi-Stepper Alumnae Association.

Memorials may be made to the Vashti Underwood Muse Scholarship through the Hinds Community College Development Foundation, P. O. Box 1100, Raymond, MS 39154.

Dr. Walter Pauk, age 105 of Lancaster, PA, passed away December 7, 2019 in Naples, Florida. He resided in Ithaca, New York, before retiring in 1994.

Dr. Pauk retired from Cornell University where he earned a Doctorate in Education Psychology. He became the Director of the Reading and Study Skills Center at Cornell. He was a respected speaker and author in the field of reading and study skills, writing over 100 books. His best-known book "How to Study in College," first published nearly sixty years ago is still used by students today.

He loved the outdoors, enjoying camping, hiking, canoeing and golf. He always kept himself physically fit. He took many multi-week trips in the mountains of the Wind River Range in Wyoming and canoe trips in Quetico Provincial Park in Canada. His last camping adventure was a Canadian canoe trip at the age of 91.

Dr. Pauk served in the U.S. Army during WWII and the Korean War, retiring as a Lt Col.

Memorial Service for Cindy Peterson – Jan. 26, 2005

I have come today not to mourn a loss, but to celebrate a life.

—- A Life of Gentle Inspiration —

Some of you knew her as Dr. Peterson, some as Cindy. She has touched each of you in her own special way – a quiet, non-assuming way. She had the gift if teaching – the ability to inspire and provide inspiration.

She joined the faculty here at Texas State Curriculum and Instruction in 1993. In 1999, she received tenure and promotion to Associate Professor. She has authored and co-authored more than 30 state, national, and international scholarly publications. She was a frequent presenter and institute leader at the College Reading and Learning Association national conference.

However, not only did she publish, but she also took on the leadership task of Executive Editor of her professional associations Journal – the Journal of College Reading and Learning. This is Cindy’s legacy – to quietly and gently up the standards for publication and research.

Many of you, knew her in the role of Professor. But did you know that she began her career as a high school English teacher and librarian in Louisiana? It was there that she developed the interest of working with older students who struggle with literacy and this became the focus for her career.

Some of you knew her in her role of faculty developer for college faculty across the nation in a summer instituted called TIDE – Technology Institute for Developmental Educators.

Some of you knew her as friend and mentor, as she tried to help you develop online classes and explain the importance of online discussion. “ Now when I was teaching from the café in France …. Of course, the students didn’t know I was in France. I was just online!”

But statistics alone, don’t celebrate a life.

In an attempt to find a way to put into words this celebration, I took a mental walk back through time and geography to Jaffery, New Hampshire, where I grew up. In Jaffrey Center is the Old Burial Ground, behind the Meeting House. It is here that Willa Cather is buried under the pines looking out at Mt. Monadnock. Many a day, I have roamed through the Old Burial Ground. And on one of the old stones was etched a quote that will help us here. It comes from a novel, written by Rossiter Raytmond in 1873. The novel was called Brave Heart. And Brave Heart certainly applies to Cindy.

The quote chiseled into the old stone reads:

Life is eternal.
Love is immortal.
And death is only a horizon.
And a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.

So let’s celebrate life on the horizon.

If you see shy, impish blue eyes a twinkling, you’ll know that Cindy is but on the horizon.

If you see students creating mind maps with Inspiration software, you’ll know that Cindy is on the horizon.

If you see quiet organization in support of scholarly research, you’ll know that Cindy is on the horizon.

If you see a wel-run faculty development institute for the use of technology, then you know that the gentle, unseen organization was inspired by Cindy.

If you see stress management workshops for laptop users combining the use of the hula, you’ll know that Cindy is on the horizon.

If you see webquests designed for college student, you’ll know that Cindy is on the horizon.

If you see struggling students perservere and attain excellence, you’ll know that Cindy is on the horizon.

If you see a much beloved litte red couch, you’ll know that Cindy is on the horizon.

And above all, if in your darkest depths of despair, you are inspired to great achievement, then you will know.

……..Lucy MacDonald, January 26, 2006

January 26, 2006:

Today we come to remember a person who touched us deeply. Cindy Peterson was my mentor, colleague, and friend. My name is Nathan Bond, and I taught in the Secondary Education Program with Cindy. To honor her, I would like to share two more serious stories and three less serious anecdotes that represent my favorite memories of her.

My first story describes Cindy’s wonderful personality, for you see I met Cindy seven years ago on the day when I interviewed for a teaching position at what was then Southwest Texas State University. I remember driving early one spring morning to San Marcos from Austin and feeling very nervous and anxious. The palms of my hands were sweating and my heart was racing. I had been directed to first meet with Dr. Cynthia Peterson, a fellow secondary professor who would guide through a scheduled agenda that included a face-to-face interview with professors in the department, a teaching presentation, and meetings with Department Chair Dolezal and Dean Beck. When I found Cindy’s office, I was greeted by this warm, friendly, and engaging person who immediately calmed by fears. I vividly remember her bright smile and how it put me at ease. Throughout the day, no matter what the situation, I could always look over and see Cindy smiling and encouraging me. That was Cindy. She had a special way of making people feel comfortable and confident. I think she was able to do this because she herself was unphased by the stresses and pressures of life. Throughout the years, I have always marveled at her unflappable nature. She never seemed to get upset or let circumstances get her down. Although I fail at times at this lesson, Cindy taught me to remain calm in the storms of life and to be a solid, stabilizing force for others.

My second story describes Cindy’s superb mentoring skills. A couple years had passed after my interview, and Cindy was serving as my mentor. All new faculty members in our department are assigned a mentor to guide them through the six years to tenure. Although I had learned about research as a doctoral student, Cindy recognized the importance of research in the tenure process and wanted to develop my researching skills even further. Cindy was a true academician and scholar, and she embodied what it meant to be a professor. As a result of our collaboration, she taught me how to look critically at my own classes and formulate research questions that would better inform my practice and contribute to the larger body of professional knowledge. She taught me how to collect, analyze and write up research in such a way that it would be published in prestigious journals. As a result of her guidance, we had two articles published in national, peer-reviewed journals. For the first article, she modeled the writing process, and then she gently pushed me to take over the writing responsibilities for the second one. When both articles were published, I thought our work was complete, but Cindy said that there was still work to be done. She then showed me how to take our research and craft it into a conference proposal. And sure enough, American Educational Researchers Association accepted our idea. Coincidentally, the AERA conference was held in her hometown of San Diego that year. Rather than co-presenting the session, she encouraged me to present our work by myself. As the more experienced professor, she could have easily taken center stage, but as a mentor she wanted me to have the experience of sharing the information in front of all these scholars. During my presentation I remember her sitting on the front row beaming like a proud parent. Cindy taught me what it means to be a professor, researcher and mentor.

My last three anecdotes are really a collection of humorous events that show what an interesting life that Cindy led. On the surface, she seemed so composed and elegant, but behind the scenes lived a very interesting person with a passion for life. It was always fun to talk to Cindy in her office, at lunch or at a social event, because she always had an unusual life story to tell. Here are my three favorites anecdotes:

Anecdote #1: On Fridays, the Secondary Education Professors in our department would frequently get together for lunch and enjoy each others’ company after a long challenging week. After we ate lunch, Cindy would always insist that we go to the gelato ice cream bar on north LBJ. For those of you who don’t know, gelato is a wonderful Italian ice cream. I think Cindy single-handedly kept the gelato bar in business by dragging all of her friends there for her favorite dessert. Did you know that Cindy loved gelato?

Anecdote #2: Picture Cindy as a young, pretty blonde-haired California girl, who is maybe 16 to 17 years ago. She lives in San Diego and needs a part-time job. What’s a girl to do? She loved to tell the story of her experiences as a San Diego Charger girl. And for those of you who don’t know, the San Diego Chargers are the professional football team in San Diego. As Cindy tells the story, she worked one year as a Charger girl. Her uniform consisted of high top boots that came up to her knees, a short blue and yellow mini-skirt, and a charger hat. Her job was to stand at the bottom of the escalator near the entrances and turn it off when any rowdy sports fan had trouble getting on or off the escalator. Would you have ever imagined our Cindy as a San Diego Charger girl?

Anecdote #3: This one is my all-time favorite. Cindy and I often swapped stories about our families, and I loved the story that she used to tell about her brother who lived in San Diego. Her brother was a single man who had a dog. For some reason, the dog either ran away or was stolen. When the dog showed up missing, Cindy’s brother, of course, was distraught, and Cindy wanted to help. So, what did she do? She jumped on the Internet and located a “credible” Pet Psychic who lived somewhere near Seattle. After Cindy paid $100 with her credit card, the psychic in Seattle channeled the dog using her psychic powers and was able to locate the general vicinity of the dog and communicate with the dog in San Diego. After hearing the report from the pet psychic, Cindy then flew to San Diego and drove around the city for several days with her brother looking for the place that the psychic had described. Only Cindy would go the extra mile for her brother, someone she loved.

Cindy’s passing has really affected me because it happened so quickly. It has forced me to stop and examine my life and my legacy. What will people say about me after I’m gone? What will people say about you?

Cindy and the stories about her that I have shared today offer a way for us to live our lives. In the face of adversity, Cindy maintained her calm demeanor and as a result, calmed others. In her professional life, she produced quality work and helped others to do the same. In her personal life, she lived richly by actively seeking unique things and experiences. But perhaps most importantly, she loved her family and friends deeply.

Cindy, I will miss you.

For Cindy — January 26, 2006

We’re together here this evening because we’ve all lost someone very special: a beloved wife; a precious daughter, sister, and aunt; a respected and well-loved colleague and friend; someone irreplaceable in our lives. I lost my best friend.

Cindy and I met in college more than 35 years ago. She was a roommate of one of my dearest friends since childhood, Vicki, who joins us here this evening as well. You know how most friendships of our teen and early-adult years tend to burn brightly for the time we share a lifestyle or circumstance, but when those circumstances alter, as they surely will at that time in our lives, those relationships tend to wither naturally and blow away on the winds of change. For Cindy and me, though, the pattern did not hold true. When she graduated from the University of San Diego and left to pursue a degree in library science in Baton Rouge, she and I began a correspondence and a deepening friendship that would turn out to last a lifetime. We just clicked.

She moved to New Orleans and began her teaching career in the well-known housing projects in that city. Many of our best memories were created in New Orleans, at several Mardi Gras and Jazz Festivals, and at less storied occasions as well. This past August we telephoned one another and watched on our televisions as that beautiful and unique city that meant so much to us nearly disappeared beneath the flood waters, and it was painful beyond telling. So much of “us” was there.

When Cindy moved to Texas to work on her doctorate, I visited her here as well — but not, it must be admitted, as often as I did when she was in New Orleans. Of course she came home to San Diego as often as she could, and we would spend time together every chance we got. By then I considered myself part of her family, and I have cherished my friendships with her mother and her siblings for many years. My heart breaks for them now.

Over 35 years we shared pretty much everything life had to throw at us: love, triumphs, losses, divorces, dire illness, too many deaths. I don’t think either of us ever had a secret from the other. Yesterday, Cindy’s sister Nancy and I went through boxes and boxes of photographs, keepsakes, mementoes; and I discovered that Cindy had saved every single card and letter I had ever sent to her. Every single word I had written. I think I can safely say that no one else in my life can make that claim. As we often said, we were soul sisters from the start.

Thanksgiving weekend of 2004, Cindy and I spent one of those long, luxurious lunches that only girlfriends seem to be able to pull off — you know, five hours; the restaurant wants to charge us rent, and we leave still feeling we’d only scratched the surface of all the things we had to talk about. Less than two weeks later, Cindy learned she had advanced renal cell carcinoma, and a month after that, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Many times over the past year we’ve marveled that, at our lovely lunch together in November, neither of us had an inkling of how ill we were shortly to become.

I won’t insult your intelligence by suggesting that I was glad I got cancer so I could share so fully in Cindy’s illness and battle. But you can imagine, I think, what a profound experience it was for us to go through together. We spoke often on the phone and e-mailed constantly, and many times, anyone monitoring those communications would suspect we were both either in deep denial or just plain loons. Because though we certainly cried together and expressed our fears to one another, more often we actually laughed. We shared war stories and medical information, and traded a truly astonishing number of remedies for constipation. We tried to come up with words that would adequately describe the fatigue chemotherapy causes. At one point, going for a Continental flair, I guess, we came up with “fatigue-issimo.” Believe me, right through to the end, Cindy never lost her quirky and endearing sense of humor. It was one of the many things I loved in her.

To say that Cindy demonstrated incredible grace and courage in the face of unimaginable circumstances would be to wallow in understatement. God, what a fighter she was. All of her life she was focused, determined, and just plain stubborn, and never were those qualities more important or apparent than in this past year. Early on in our respective illnesses, we took extreme exception at the tendency in our culture to call cancer or chemotherapy patients “heroic.” Our feeling, right or wrong, was that there is nothing inherently heroic in just trying to save your own life. As I told Cindy, now, if I was to take her chemotherapy for her, that would be heroic. But I have to tell you—and Cindy, forgive me for this—but she left me, finally, with no other word to describe her. She became, to me, the very embodiment of heroism. Think of the advances in research and treatments for future patients made possible by her long and valiant fight against this particularly insidious disease.

There is much to celebrate in remembering Cindy. She achieved more of her personal and professional goals than almost anyone I have ever known. I admired and respected her so much, and it’s good to remember that she savored the journey as much as she enjoyed the destination. Other than her friends and family, for many years her career was the most important thing in her life, and it remained important all through her illness. But by then she had found something, or rather someone, who became more beloved to her than anything else in her life: Dave. One of the things she told me at our Thanksgiving lunch was that she had found her soul mate, the love of her life. In our last telephone conversation, about two weeks ago, we were reminiscing about hers and Dave’s wedding this past October, and she told me, simply, that it had been the happiest day of her life. I thank God for that.

That Dave felt the same way about Cindy is beyond question. No one could have been more supportive, more loving, more present than he has been this past year. He never missed a doctor’s appointment or a treatment. He and Cindy never, ever gave up. Their spirit was never vanquished. Cindy did not fight this battle alone. When she finally slipped away from us, she did so bathed in a powerful, radiant love that comforted her to her last breath. Dave, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I wish I had some kernel of wisdom, some special insight that would bring comfort to all of us in this terrible loss. I don’t. But I have been picturing Cindy being greeted and comforted on the other side by those she loved so dearly who have gone before: Her father, her grandmother and aunt, her brother David, and her beloved little dog, Nutmeg.

Cindy, give Nutmeg a Meaty Bone for me. I’ll miss you every day of my life.

Adrienne Whitehurst

From NCLCA:

Brenda Pfaehler was a mother, teacher and civic activist who held numerous posts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1988, she joined the School of Business and founded the Business Learning Center. She was also the director of UW-Madison's TRIO Program. Her bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees were awarded in education at UW-Madison.

Brenda Pfaehler served as president of MCLCA (The Midwest College Learning Center Association) from 1981-1982, and she was active in the organization until her untimely death from cancer in 1996. The NCLCA Professional Development Grant was renamed to honor her memory.

From NCLCA:

Dr. Karen Quinn served as the 1992-93 NCLCA President (then Midwest College Learning Center Association).

Before her untimely death from cancer, she had been a very active leader. She was the driving force behind developing our professional journal, The Learning Assistance Review during her term. A scholar herself, she served as the first co-editor with Dr. Martha Casazza.

Karen was the director of the Center for Academic Excellence at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Karen participated as a mentor and presenter at the 1993 and 1995 NCLCA Summer Institute at Loyola, Chicago. She was a mentor for the Reading/Writing to Learn component. Karen presented us with large notebook of journal articles on improving learning assistance in writing and reading, her areas of expertise. Her presentation was insightful and extremely helpful.

The NCLCA Summer Institute was changed in 2008 to the NCLCA Institute. NCLCA is honored to name the Karen Quinn Institute Scholarship in Dr. Quinn’s memory.

Gladys asked Russ Hodges if he would write a Eulogy for her. Below is his eulogy, a beautiful tribute to Gladys, her commitment, and how much this “Crown Jewel of Texas” has inspired so many lives, and in so many ways!

It is with great sadness that I inform our professional community of the passing of our beloved Crown Jewel of Texas, Gladys Shaw. She joins her beloved husband Howard who passed away July 29 of this year. Gladys is survived by her children Kimberly, Kia, and Katherine, seven grandchildren, eight great grandchildren, as well as all their spouses, partners, and extended family members.

Gladys has been a colleague, mentor, and friend to so many of us throughout America and one of our most precious resources. Early in her career, Gladys realized that high school students in the El Paso area were in need of mentoring and encouragement to access postsecondary education. In 1967, Gladys began directing and improving programs for the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) as the Associate Director of Upward Bound, a federally funded, compensatory summer bridge program for at-risk youth. UTEP adopted her model, which is still in existence today. In fact, the Upward Bound regional director from Washington, DC, brought other program directors to UTEP to learn about its delivery methods and curriculum.

Beginning in 1992, Gladys taught developmental courses at El Paso Community College, and from 1982 to 2001 she directed UTEP’s Tutoring and Learning Center (TLC). The center received three national awards because of her leadership.

Since 1993 and through her semiretirement, Gladys directed Student Support Services at UTEP, another federally funded compensatory program that supports at-risk and first generation undergraduates through tutoring, advising, and cultural enrichment activities. These programs have been vital to the El Paso community, helping students to enroll in and graduate from college.

Not surprisingly, Gladys took what she had learned from her years of experience and found ways to educate other learning assistance professionals through her groundbreaking, long-term leadership. She co-founded CRLA’s International Tutor Training Certification Program, which was the first effort by an academic support association to establish standards of performance. This program, under Gladys’ chairmanship, is the standard for postsecondary tutoring programs. Over 1,000 institutions have since acquired certification, thus making their tutoring programs more effective. In 1995, Gladys authored the Self-Evaluation Guide for Tutoring Services for the National Association for Developmental Education (NADE). The Guide is part of NADE’s professional program certification and sets the highest standards for professionals within our field. In 1998, Gladys developed and implemented CRLA¹s International Mentor Training Certification Program. Together, these certification programs represent a significant step toward increasing the professionalism of developmental education and learning assistance programs. College students around the world have benefited from Gladys’ efforts.

Gladys is the only person ever to serve on the boards (as treasurer) of both the National Association for Developmental Education (NADE) and the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA). She chaired a regional conference on fostering diversity with a grant from American College Personnel Association (ACPA) and was a representative, then Chair, of ACPA’s Commission XVI, Learning Centers in Higher Education. Gladys co-chaired the NADE/CRLA Joint Symposium and was an invited visiting professor at the Kellogg Institute. Her other contributions include over 75 professional presentations and numerous articles and chapters in professional journals and publications.

Among her many awards are CRLA’s Special Recognition Award and Robert Griffin Award for Long & Outstanding Service, NADE’s Henry Young Award for Outstanding Service, and American College Personnel Association’s Award for Commission XVI’s Excellence as a Learning Assistance Practitioner. She was also named Fellow of the Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations, our field’s most prestigious honor. In 2010 she was also inducted into the El Paso Women’s Hall of Fame.

Our Crown Jewel of Texas understood the tremendous difficulties that many of our citizens face and was relentless in eliminating barriers that impede college attendance and success. She knew that college provides hope, inspiration, and a better life for our citizenry. She lived her life dedicated to this end.

My precious jewel Gladys, I will never forget your brilliance.

Russ Hodges

Printable copy of eulogy in .pdf form from LRNASST post 9/29/2011

Memorial Service:

Gladys Shaw’s memorial service was held October 23 at 7:30 pm in Austin, TX, at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center on the UT-Austin campus in the amphitheater. Some of Gladys’ family members joined us. Linda Thompson and Karen Patty-Graham (both past presidents of NADE) were in charge of arrangements. The College Academic Support Program (CASP) Conference hosted the memorial service. Please note the service was open to the public and CASP registration was not required to attend.

A copy of the memorial program is available.

Donations:

Gladys requested no flowers. Please send donations to the following charities instead.

Art of Birth and Wellness (Living Tree Women¹s Outreach Fund)
c/o 314 Phillips Drive; Las Cruces, NM 88005

Circle of the Solitary (Veteran¹s and Homeless Fund)
c/o 3405 Fort Boulevard; El Paso, TX 79930

Brock Riemath Memorial (Scholarship Fund)
c/o 8509 N. FM 789; Lorenzo, TX 79343

Gladys guided me through my first CRLA certification process (Level One :-)). In education, we often have no idea, if we are mentors, the extent to which our mentoring assists young professionals. My first CRLA certification process (going solo as a director of a program) was in 1996 (yikes). Thanks, Gladys!

Laurie L. Hazard, Ed.D.
Director, Academic Center for Excellence and the Writing Center
Adjunct Faculty, Applied Psychology
Curriculum Coordinator, Foundations for Learning
Bryant University

…what a profound loss to our profession.

Penny Turrentine, Ph. D.
Certified Learning Center Professional-Level 4
Director, West Campus Learning Center
Pima Community College

Gladys was one classy lady and it was always a pleasure to work with her.
She will be missed but her good works will continue.

Karen Hackworth, Editor
H&H Publishing Company

Rick Sheets mused on his personal website that anyone meeting him would probably remember him for wearing one of his trademark Hawaiian shirts—“often with a tie.” Yes, but we will also remember Rick for his eagerness to learn and teach new skills, his service to our professional organizations and councils, his friendly generosity, and his many accomplishments.

Dr. Sheets was one of our most respected leaders. He served the College Reading and Learning Association as President (President-elect, President, Past President, 2007-2009), Interim ITTPC Coordinator and Interim Technology Designer (2008-2009), ITTPC Coordinator (2009-2015), Webmaster (2009-2012), ITTPC Reviewer (1999-2005), Director of AzCRLA (1994-1995), and On-Site Chair for CRLA’s Tempe conference in 1995. Rick was also a longtime member of NADE. He co-founded SWADE and served as the chapter’s president (1990-1992). More recently he presented at the Maricopa Summer Institute for Developmental Education (2010, 2011).

With Frank Christ, Rick co-directed the weeklong Winter Institute for learning assistance professionals and served as a mentor every year (1992-2002). He also co-founded LSCHE with Frank in 1997 and served continuously as webmaster. Rick was website manager and technology advisor for CLADEA (2009-2011) and widely known for website design and leadership. He was a mentor and presenter at TIDE (all but two summers 2000-2008), technology trainer for Paradise Valley Community College staff and faculty as part of his Computer Commons Director duties (1997-2009), and co-founder, mentor, and presenter at each of PVCC’s first seven annual Summer Fun Technology Weeks (2003-2009).

Dr. Sheets earned many awards for his work in the field: Black and Gold Service Award for Outstanding Service to the College (Maricopa Technical Community College, 1984); “One of Ten Highly Respected Learning Assistance Professionals in the Nation” (Rob Somers, National Center for Developmental Education, 1986); Outstanding Management Employee (Gateway College, 1987); Innovator of the Year

(Maricopa Community Colleges through the National League for Innovation, 1989, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2007); Sapphire Award for Outstanding Service (CRLA, 2012); Karen G. Smith Special Recognition Service Award (CRLA, 2004); and the Robert Griffin Award for Long and Outstanding Service (CRLA, 2015). In February, 2015, Dr. Sheets was awarded the highest honor in our field when he was inducted as a Fellow of the Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations.

Rick shared with friends that his journey into learning support began in high school when he volunteered to help students in his mother’s special education classes. Watching and assisting his mother as she struggled to recover from a stroke, earn a master’s degree in special education, and teach children with special needs helped shape Rick’s own career of learning, teaching, and finding creative solutions to problems. Rick majored in early childhood and elementary education, taught 4th grade and special education for a few years and became director, owner, and teacher of The Yellow Brick Road School, Inc., a preschool. That led to work at Gateway Community College, where within a year he became director of the learning assistance center. As director of the Learning Support Center and the Creative Commons at Paradise Valley Community College, he provided a warm, inviting learning environment to support the learning needs of students, staff, and faculty. Despite retirement in January 2010 from his responsibilities at PVCC—after more than 27 years in learning assistance, faculty training, and technology support—Rick continued to serve developmental education and learning assistance professionals with his expertise. Not until 2015 did he retire from his full-time unpaid work as Coordinator of CRLA’s International Tutor Training Program Certification (ITTPC). He and Barbara moved to the Sierra Winds retirement community.

At the time of his death, Rick was energetically updating LSCHE (Learning Support Centers in Higher Education), the Open Education Resource web portal he co-founded with Frank Christ in 1996 and for which he served as webmaster. After Frank’s death in 2012, Rick had undertaken a massive move of the LSCHE resources to a new WordPress site (2014) and continued to coordinate LSCHE’s renewal to best serve professionals in the field. Rick created for others the very “In Memoriam” pages on which this memorial to him now resides.

Rick lived by the words, “no one of us is as smart as all of us.” He said that meant it was imperative “to build effective communication and synergy in solving problems and providing services.” His personal mission, he said, was to learn, grow, enjoy, and create—“to integrate a part of me into all that I do.” Mission accomplished, Rick.

CRLA Loses Dedicated Member Karen G. Smith

Karen G. Smith, the University Director of the Rutgers University Learning Resource Centers, and longtime CRLA member, passed away on Saturday, October 13, 2001. Karen was a true practitioner who operated at one time in most roles and functions of learning assistance and developmental education. Karen had the distinction of having designed, developed and directed comprehensive learning assistance centers in three unique and different universities: Rutgers The State University of New Jersey which operates in the north, central and south of the state; Tulane University, which is a selective private university in the south; and New Mexico State University, which is a state land-grant institution.

Because of her extensive experience in designing and developing learning support programs, Karen served as a consultant for several colleges and universities in the design of new programs or the consultation and evaluation of existing programs. Her experiences also led to the development of a publication, “Starting a Learning Assistance Center,” co edited by Karen, Frank Christ and Rick Sheets, written for CRLA and published by H&H Publishers.
Karen was a long-time member of the College Reading and Learning Association, and she served the organization in many roles, including president. One of her proudest achievements was recognition by her peers in CRLA in 1988 with the Long and Outstanding Service Award. Karen was very proud of the development and growth of the CRLA Special Interest Groups program, which was one of her initiatives. Karen’s most recent role was as the CRLA archivist and member of the editorial boards for the CRLA Journal of College Reading and Learning and NCLCA’s The Learning Assistance Review.

Karen’s death leaves many at a loss. Her family will certainly know the depths of Karen’s devotion to CRLA and our
admiration of her when they read the many cards that were written for her during the conference in Spokane. CRLA has lost a great friend and mentor.

Reprinted with permission from CRLA Newsletter, Fall 2001, Volume XXV, Issue 1, p.1

As I worked with Karen Smith and Frank Christ as editors on the publication, “Starting a learning assistance center: Conversations with CRLA members who have been there and done that”, I enjoyed Karen’s interest, dedication, and contagious enthusiasm. She is missed by many, including those who had the benefit of knowing and working closely with her.
Rick Sheets
LSCHE Co-founder

Below is the beautiful eulogy written by Dr. Taylor Acee, one of her former students and now a colleague of Dr. Russ Hodges. Taylor is an associate professor at Texas State University teaching in our doctoral program in developmental education:

Hi everybody, I am honored to have this chance to share some of my fondest memories and insights on the beautiful and remarkable life of Claire Ellen Weinstein. My name is Taylor Acee, and Claire Ellen was my dissertation advisor, colleague, life mentor, Jewish Mother, and close friend. I may have only known Claire Ellen for 14 years, but we spent a lot of time together. And, through her sharing of so many life stories, I feel like I was part of her entire life.

I truly believe that Claire Ellen was one of Earth’s greatest champions of what is good in this world. While we all will continue to miss her dearly, today is a day to celebrate Claire Ellen’s beautiful and remarkable life.

From a very young age, it was obvious to Claire Ellen’s mother (Mama) that Claire Ellen had an unusual ability to make whatever she wanted happen. Claire Ellen was very smart and she was also a natural leader who could rally people around her ideas. One story that Claire Ellen loves telling that I think exemplifies this is the story about her worm business. When Claire Ellen was only 7 years old, she knew her family needed more money so she decided to start a business selling worms. She organized her older brothers to dig up worms from the backyard. Somehow she knew that if you cut a worm in half it would grow back and you would have two worms. So, with this important piece of biological information, Claire Ellen was able to exponentially grow her worm yield. She would travel down to local fishing areas and sell her worms by the handful. She offered lower prices than her adult competitors and essentially took over a considerable piece of worm market in these areas.

Claire Ellen was truly gifted, I mean, she was a genius. And, Mama Weinstein knew it. She recognized the power Claire Ellen had to make what she wanted come to life. And, there was a time when Mama sat Claire Ellen down and warned her that with a power like this comes responsibility and to be careful to use her power for good and not ill. Luckily for us, Claire Ellen had the biggest, warmest, and most loving heart I have ever seen in a person. And, she devoted her life to leading individuals, groups, and large organizations towards a more strategic and ethical way of behaving and thinking about things.

I believe that every person will inevitably have an effect on the lives of others, and this effect has magnitude (large to small) and direction (positive to negative). Claire Ellen’s life, without question, had a large and positive effect on others, and this includes perfect strangers, professional colleagues, students, friends, family, extended family, and numerous local, national, and international organizations, especially in the areas of education and psychology, but also in many other areas including civil rights, women’s issues, and Judaism.

Claire Ellen had an outstanding career and through her groundbreaking research on learning strategies, the development of her Model of Strategic Learning, the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory, and her 3-credit course designed to teach students how to learn, she has transformed scholarly thinking and educational practice, literally, around the world. Through her large impact, she has helped hundreds of thousands of students, especially students who are underprepared or at-risk, develop the skills they need to succeed in college and become lifelong learners. And, even with Claire Ellen gone, this work will continue through the legacy she established in her students. I know many of Claire Ellen’s students are here today, Jen, Paul, David. . . Please raise your hand if you are one of Claire Ellen’s students. We are her academic legacy. She invested more of herself in us than in any educational product, book chapter, or research manuscript she ever published. She knew that what mattered in the larger scheme of things were the people she touched directly. She was a true believer in the proverb: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” But, of course she always changed the idiom to “Give a person a fish…” not “Give a man a fish…” And, teaching a person to fish requires a lot more of yourself than simply cooking up a meal for them.

Claire Ellen was a devoted teacher, mentor, and Jewish Mother not just to her students and loved ones, but to perfect strangers. I remember stopping with Claire Ellen to get gas at the Texaco by her house. I offered to pump the gas. But, she told me not to because she wanted to continue her conversation with this guy who worked there, plus she said he could use the extra money (she tipped really well). The guy working there had expressed an interest in going back to college and Claire Ellen was dead set on convincing him to enroll in community college. We sat there for at least 30 minutes talking with this guy about the ins and outs and pros and cons of community college. I followed up with Claire Ellen several months later and she said she finally convinced him to go back to school and that he was happy with the decision. What to many of us might seem like a perfect stranger, Claire Ellen saw as an opportunity to make the world a better place.

While a big part of her legacy is giving and mentoring with a loving heart, another part is standing up for what is right. Claire Ellen gave love, but she also gave tough love. Claire Ellen had the ability to see through things and determine what she believed to be the best course forward or the most ethical way to proceed. And, frankly, she was usually right. She would fight tooth and nail for the things she believed in, even if it meant standing in the crossfire of conflict or making enemies. As a mentor, she would tell you the hard truth and forcefully argue with you to see her point of view. She would also fight like a lion to protect you against an outside threat or an injustice. I was just talking with one of Claire Ellen’s star students who came before me, Jen Husman, and we both agreed that the lion in Claire Ellen’s heart was one of the many characteristics that made her exceptional.

On an even more personal level, Claire Ellen meant so very much to me. She helped shape me into the person I am today. From the classroom to the dinner table, I was captivated by Claire Ellen’s reasoning about things, her knowledge about the world, and her insights about human behavior. In so many ways, she has shaped my worldview, and for the better. She took me under her wing, guided me through graduate school, into my career in academia, and through the tenure and promotion process. And, while Claire Ellen talked about me like a son and probably saw her role in my life as foremost a mentor and Jewish Mother, to me she was foremost a best friend. I enjoyed Claire Ellen’s cheerful and playful spirit as much as I respected her intellect and good will. I cherished long Sabbath dinners and dim sum brunches with her, Leona, and Danielle (my wife). I bask in the memories of watching the jellyfish together in the Long Beach aquarium, driving through the hill country, laughing at some absurd thought one of us had, and then stopping for ice-cream because neither of us were quite ready to go home. And, I long for another day in her office, working on our next big idea and taking many breaks to enjoy each other’s company. It was these times of flow, when time slipped away and we were immersed in the moment, that are the most meaningful and yet the hardest to remember. I pray that Claire Ellen is enjoying one of these moments now, free of the physical pain she once felt, completely at peace, and with God by her side.

Beloved Claire Ellen Weinstein passed away Thursday, June 23, 2016 while at home with her daughter Leona. Claire Ellen worked through many years of ongoing health problems but always with a positive attitude and a zest for living. Her family and loved ones are deeply saddened and surprised by her passing and feel fortunate to have shared so much of her life.

Claire Ellen, Full Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin, was an active member of various Austin and Longhorn communities as well as numerous international, national, and local professional organizations in the fields of education and psychology. She was also a strong advocate of civil rights and women’s issues, especially in Texas. She had a love for learning Judaism and sharing Jewish holidays with friends and family. Claire Ellen had the biggest heart and the sharpest mind, and she devoted her life to helping others.

Claire Ellen was born on November 8, 1946, to Sidney and Fannie Weinstein of Brooklyn, New York. She had exceptional loving parents who had almost no education. Her parents knew the importance of education and made sure she knew it as well. Claire Ellen excelled in her educational studies, skipping several grades. After earning a B.S. in Biology from Brooklyn College and working for IBM on the computers of the future, she shifted her focus to improving education and earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from UT-Austin.

Claire Ellen’s contributions to research and practice in educational psychology and developmental education stretch across the world from the ivory tower to the inner-city community college classroom, and her legacy lives on in her many students and her students’ students. Claire Ellen is famous for her groundbreaking research on learning strategies, her 3-credit course (EDP310) designed to teach college students how to learn, as developer of the Model of Strategic Learning, and as author of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory. Claire Ellen was a pioneer in educational access; she knew that every student could learn, and she dedicated her life to making sure that every student had the tools they needed to learn. She always recognized the special impact that mentors had on the lives of students. Claire Ellen had wonderful mentors and she prioritized her role as an outstanding mentor and Jewish Mother to her many students, friends, and family members. In her heart of hearts, she devoted herself to mothering, mentoring, and enjoying the company of her dear peanut, math princess, and beautiful daughter and niece, Leona.

Claire Ellen was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers Alvin and Warren Weinstein. She is survived by her daughter Leona Weinstein.

Claire Ellen’s family requests that, in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to Jewish Family Services of Austin or Congregation Agudas Achim.

June 2016:

Russ Hodges, Ed.D., Texas State University
I am so sorry to let you know that Dr. Claire Ellen Weinstein passed away this morning at 8:00 am. The funeral will be Sunday. More information is forthcoming. Our prayers are with her daughter Leona Weinstein and Dr. Weinstein’s entire family.

Russ Hodges, Ed.D., Texas State University
Claire Ellen touched the hearts and minds of so many of us and leaves such a lasting legacy. While the seven days of Shiva—a beautiful and structured approach to Jewish mourning has just ended—her family, friends and students will continue to feel the vast void of her absence.

Claire was not only my friend, mentor, and teacher, she was my spiritual guide (and my adopted Jewish Mother) keeping me connected to my faith for 30 years and ever since I have lived in Austin. She lovingly called me her boychik. I will miss her immensely.

In the tradition of the Jewish faith:
קום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים
“May God comfort you among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.”

Please see the beautiful eulogy written by Dr. Taylor Acee, one of her former students and now my colleague. Taylor is an associate professor at Texas State University teaching in our doctoral program in developmental education.

Rebecca Goosen, Ed.D., San Jacinto College
Thank you for sharing Russ. Those that were fortunate to personally know her, she will be greatly missed. For those that were fortunate to know her work and legacy there will be a void. Prayers to her family and friends.

Shevawn Eaton
I’m so sorry to hear about Claire. This is a loss to our profession as well as to her family and friends. Claire was a great help to me on occasion.
She will be missed.

Laura Bower Alvarez
So so sorry. Prayers an hugs to the entire family as well as her friends and colleagues.

Martha Casazza
Claire was always at the top of my list of professional mentors and was also a truly gracious individual to know. I will miss her.

Sharon Silverman
Claire was a beacon, an inspiration to all, truly a remarkable person. We are so fortunate to have known her. Her legacy of leadership and learning is forever remembered.
Sending comforting thoughts to her family and all who will dearly miss her.

Rick Sheets, LSCHE co-Founder & Webmaster
A very special, dedicated, caring learning support professional. She will be missed.
Claire, I am better for having known you. May you be at peace.

Penny Turrentine, Pima Community College
Losing her is very sad for the entire profession.
Love to her family.

4-23-2015
Dear Colleagues:

Please join me in offering our condolences to our colleague and friend Dr. Claire Ellen Weinstein. As you may have heard, her brother Dr. Warren Weinstein, abducted and held hostage by al Qaeda since 2011, was killed by a drone strike. Dr. Weinstein was employed by J.E. Austin Associates Inc., a U.S. consulting firm based in Arlington, Virginia, which is a contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development. He was a world-renowned development expert, according to the company’s website. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Weinstein family during this terrible time of loss.

Sincerely,
Russ Hodges, Ed.D.

Induction Biography as a CLADEA Fellow 2009

One of the support letters for his nomination by the National Association for Developmental Education emphasized the role of Dr. White with graduate education of developmental educators and researchers. “ For two decades Dr. White has guided and taught doctoral students at Grambling State University . He is the most sought out doctoral adviser in the Grambling Doctoral Program in Developmental Education because he has a strong reputation for maintaining high standards while providing exceptional support for his students. His work has probably brought more doctoral students into the field of learning assistance and developmental education than anyone else including many of today’s leaders. ” In addition, White has been published in every major publication within the field. In 2002, his article coauthored with Russ Hodges was selected as “Research Article of the Year” by the Journal of Developmental Education . One of the themes emerging from his contributions is master educator and mentor for developmental education.

John F. Kennedy once said that: “When at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us, recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities… our success or failure will be measured by the answers to four questions: First, were we truly men of courage… Second, were we truly men of judgment… Third, were we truly men of integrity… finally, were we truly men of dedication?”

Professor “Bill” White was courageous. He was never afraid to say what needed to be said to whoever needed to hear it. At the same time, he was always kind and thoughtful in whatever he said, never raised his voice, never used profanity, and never insulted. But he stood solidly behind his beliefs and in his kind and gentle manner was always willing to defend them.

Bill White was a man of thoughtful judgment. He possessed an excellent mind that enabled him to see issues from many perspectives and many levels. His opinions were always valued, his counsel sought by others, his views respected throughout the field of developmental education.

Bill White was a man of integrity and one of the finest scholars I have ever met. He was a diligent researcher who never put anything down on paper unless he was absolutely sure of its accuracy. He also never put anything down on paper unless he was absolutely sure that the research behind it was thorough.

Bill White was a man of dedication. He was one of the finest mentors I have ever met. He held his students accountable for a high degree of scholarship but he also did everything within his power to help them attain a high degree of scholarship. His work extensive with and support beyond the call of duty for doctoral students at Grambling State University was literally legendary.

The untimely departure of Bill White from the ranks of scholarly leadership in developmental education leaves a gap that that will be impossible to fill. He dedicated his life to his scholarship and his students and to the field of developmental education. The series of articles presented here in three installments of Research in Developmental Education represent his final work and also represents Bill’s typical diligent style of research.

Boylan, H. “In Memoriam to William “Bill” White. (2009). Research in Developmental Education. Volume 23, Issue 1, 2009. P. 1

I was so sad to hear the news about Dr. White—I somehow thought he’d always be there offering friendship and professional advice.

I first met him during the Kellogg Institute at Appalachian State in 2000; I then contacted him the next year about enrolling in the Developmental Education program at GSU—with his and other’s encouragement, I kept working and Dr. White served as my doctoral committee chair. I valued his friendship and his never ending energy when reading countless pages of my dissertation. Part of my professional success I attribute to Bill White and he will be greatly missed.

Dana C.

It is with deep regret that it is my task to inform you that our friend, Bill White, was found dead at his home on the morning of 07/13/09. His official cause of death was a massive heart attack. His death was sudden and it does not appear that he suffered.

Bill was a good friend, and one of the truly good people of this world. He will be missed by all. We look forward to seeing him on resurrection day.

Steve H.

I am deeply saddened by the news of Dr. William White’s death. I considered Bill to be a very good friend, a valued colleague, a role model, and a continuing mentor and cheerleader of my own professional efforts. Developmental Education has lost a leader in the field; friends, students, and colleagues have lost a top notch advisor, teacher, scholar, and all-round good person. Bill loved life and all its experiences. He was a true connector as evidenced by the many of us who may not know each other but have been connected through Bill.
Bill was my doctoral dissertation advisor and I mirror the remarks made by Russ H. (who went through the program at the same time as I) regarding Bill’s invaluable support and expertise. Our friendship and professional collaboration continued and evolved from that experience. I will miss the opportunity that Bill gave me each semester to participate as a visiting scholar for his on-line course, his invitations to serve on dissertation committees, and our annual chance to have dinner at NADE. I am honored that Bill asked me for one of his recommendation letters for the ACDEA award, and dismayed that he will not be here to receive it directly.

I will choose to remember Bill’s sense of humor, his stories, and his love of people but will greatly miss his advise and friendship.

Carmy C.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Planning Resources for Learning Assistance Professionals

(including some sources on the relationship of

facilities and student learning)



Prepared by
William G. White, Jr.
Grambling State University

Print Resources

Berner, M. M. (1993). Building conditions, parental involvement, and student achievement in the District of Columbia public school system. Urban Education, 6(22), 6-29.

Black, S. (1997, June). Creating community. The American School Board Journal, 32-35.

Bowers, J. H., & Burkett, C. W. (1989). Effects of physical and school environment on students and faculty. The Educational Facility Planner, 26(1), 28-29.

Cash, C. (1993). A study of the relationship between school building, achievement and behavior. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg.

Clark-Thayer, S. (Ed.). (1995). NADE self-evaluation guides: Models for assessing learning assistance/developmental education programs. Clearwater, FL: H&H Publishing.

Council of Educational Facility Planners, International. (1985). Guidelines for developing a program of requirements. Columbus, OH: Author.

Council of Educational Facility Planners, International. (1985). Space planning guidelines for institutions of higher education. Columbus, OH: Author.

Duke, D. L. (1998, February). Does it matter where our children learn? Paper presented at the meeting of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, Washington, DC. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 418 578)

Earthman, G. I., Cash, C., & Van Berkum, D. (1995, September). A statewide study of student achievement and behavior and school building condition. Paper presented to the annual meeting of the Council of Educational Facility Planners International, Dallas, TX.

Earthman, G. I., & Lemasters, L. (1996, October). Review of research on the relationship between school buildings, student achievement, and student behavior. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Council of Educational Facility Planners International, Tampa, FL.

Earthman, G. I., & Lemasters, L. (1997). The impact of school buildings on student achievement and behavior. PEB Exchange, 30, 11-15.

Earthman, G. I., & Lemasters, L. (1998). Where children learn: A discussion of how a facility affects learning. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Virginia Educational Facility Planners, Blacksburg, VA. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 419 368)

Fink, I. (Ed.). (1994). Campus planning and development: A comprehensive bibliography. Berkeley, CA: Ira Fink and Associates.

Fink, I. (1995). Electronic campus, electronic classroom, electronic library: An annotated bibliography. Berkeley, CA: Ira Fink and Associates.

Hardt, R. W., Wisniewski, J. E., Horner, K. C., Ficklen, E., & Ward, A. W. (1998). Technology & school design: Creating spaces for learning. Alexandria, VA: National School Boards Association.

Harner, D. P. (1974). Effects of thermal environment on learning skills. The Educational Facility Planner, 12(2), 4-6.

Hathaway, W. E. (1986, September). A study into the effects of light and color on pupil achievement, behavior and physiology. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Council of Education Facility Planners International, Nashville, TN.

Hathaway, W. E. (1988). Educational facilities: Neutral with respect to learning and human performance? The Educational Facility Planner, 26(4), 8-12.

Hathaway, W. E. (1994). Non-visual effects of classroom lighting on children. The Educational Facility Planner, 32(3), 12-16.

Hathaway, W. E. (1995). Effects of school lighting on physical development and school performance. Journal of Educational Research, 88, 228-242.

Hawkins, H. L., & Overbaugh, B. L. (1988). The interface between facilities and learning. The Educational Facility Planner, 26(4), 4-7.

Hines, E. (1996). Building condition and student achievement and behavior. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg.

Jarvis, J. (1995). Writing the building program for architects. Planning for Higher Education, 23, 43-48.

Johnson, D. (1998). Some design considerations when building or remodeling a media center. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 435 609)

Knirk, F. G. (1993). Facility requirements for integrated learning systems. The Educational Facility Planner, 31(3),

Lackney, J. (1994). Educational facilities: The impact and role of the physical environment of the school on teaching, learning and educational outcomes. Milwaukee, WI: Center for Architecture and Urban Planning Research, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Lewis, M. (2000). Where children learn: Facilities conditions and student test performance in Milwaukee public schools. CEFPI Issue Trak, 1-4.

Maxwell, L. E. (1999). School building renovation and student performance: One district’s experience. Scottsdale, AZ: Council of Educational Facility Planners International.

McDonough, J. (2000, May). Engaged learning. American School & University, 60, 63-64.

Moore, D. P., & Warner, E. (1998, December). Where children learn: The effect of facilities on student achievement. CEFPI Issue Trak, 1-4.

Nedwark, B. P. (Ed.). (1996). Doing academic planning: Effective tools for decision making. Ann Arbor, MI: Society for College and University Planning.

Probasco, J. (1988). Issues related to higher education facilities. The Educational Facility Planner, 26(1), 4-5.

Probasco, J. (1989). Space planning guidelines. In H. H. Kaiser (Ed.), New directions for institutional research: no. 61. Planning and managing higher education facilities (pp. 49-61). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Rickes, P. (Ed.). (1998). Special planning for special spaces. Alexandria, VA: The Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers.

Rohman, G. (1980). The adult learning centre of the future: An essay on inner space. The Educational Facility Planner, 18(5),

Standard, M. (1995). Visioning: Involving teachers as process partners for facility planning. The Educational Facility Planner, 33(3),

Sydoriak, D. E. (1984). An experiment to determine the effects of light and color in the learning environment. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

Valiant, B. (1996, August). The brain and learning: Turn on the lights! Using what we know about the brain and learning to design learning environments. CEFPI Issue Trak, 1-4.

White, W. G., Jr., Kyzar, B., & Lane, K. E. (1993). Planning the learning center facility. In P. A. Malinowski (Ed.), Perspectives on practice in developmental education (pp. 100-103). Canandaigua, NY: New York College Learning Skills Association.

White, W. G., Jr., Kyzar, B., & Lane, K. E. (1990). College learning assistance centers: Spaces for learning. In R. M. Hashway (Ed.), Handbook of developmental education (pp. 179-195). New York: Praeger.



Electronic Resources
Association of Higher Education Facility Officers. http://www.appa.org/

American Institute of Architects Committee on Architecture for Education. http://www.aia.org/PIA/cae

American School & University Magazine. http://asumag.com/

College Planning and Management Magazine.

Council of Educational Facility Planners, International. http://www.cefpi.org/websites/main/index.php?p=139

Educational Design Institute. http://www.edi.msstate.edu/

Florida Educational Facilities Planners Association. http://www.fefpa.org

Future of Educational Technology Conference. http://fetc.org/

National Clearinghouse for Education Facilities. http://edfacilities.org

Society for College and University Planning. http://www.scup.org/page/index



Listservs

Facilities-n-planning )

Facilities )



Design Software

Intro to Auto CAD (http://web.archive.org/web/20050701075146/http://www.fbe.unsw.edu.au:80/Learning/Autocad/CADnotes/)

AutoCAD Tutorials (hyyp://www.fbe.unsw.edu.au/Learning/AutoCAD/)

Floor Plans Design Software )



Electronic Tours of Learning Support Centers



http://www.ccsf.edu/en/student-services/learning-resources/learning-assistance-center.html

http://www.d.umn.edu/tutoring/

http://www.rose-hulman.edu/offices-and-services/learning-center.aspx

Karin Winnard, age 60, died from breast cancer on September 1, 2016. She passed away peacefully at home in San José, CA, surrounded by her friends and family. Karin grew up in Lexington, MA, with two older brothers. Her parents were immigrants from Austria—her mother was a nurse; and her father, a dentist, sadly passed away when Karin was 10.

Karin graduated from Lexington High School and received her BA in Environmental Psychology from Connecticut College, and a MA in Social Ecology from University of California, Irvine. She worked for five years in law enforcement, then subsequently dedicated her 30-year career to developing tutoring programs for college students. She coordinated tutoring at UC Irvine, Sonoma State University, Newbury College, and Bryant University. For the past 8 years, she served as Assistant Director for Tutorial Programs and Student Development at San José State University, where she increased program efficiency, developed a tutor training program, and was awarded the “best website” for a Learning Assistance program.

Karin presented workshops at higher-education conferences, served as president of the Association of California Colleges Tutorial and Learning Assistance (1991-1992) and as an evaluator for the College Reading and Learning Association International Tutor Training Program Certification Board. She was the author of a much-cited article, “Co-dependency and Tutoring: Training our Tutors Not to Rescue,” and co-founded a company, Wizard Education Products, that developed role-play materials for educators. Karin was also active in advocacy for LGBT issues.

Karin valued developing relationships and inspiring young people. She stated, “Tutoring is human and interpersonal bonding which provokes learning…Tutoring is basic coaching and believing anything is possible.” One of Karin’s students wrote, “Karin Winnard remains one of the most influential people to have come into my life. She helped me redefine my views on boundaries, relationships, perception, and how to address others when they are facing frustration.” Another student wrote, “Karin challenged me more than any teacher or boss…In the beginning, her challenges made me uncomfortable, but in the end, it prepared me so much better to hold my own. She truly believed in every person she met.” Karin also valued discovering new experiences in her own life.

During her years of living with cancer, Karin experienced the power of relationships, spirituality, and a wide variety of healing modalities. Karin also enjoyed traveling, gardening, writing, music, and her Chihuahua dog, Olive. Karin is survived by friends and family, including her brothers Keith (Berkeley, CA) and Kim (Lorton, VA).

Pioneer learning assistance director at San Bernadino Valley Community College, CA

Gil Williams hosted the meeting at which WCRA (now CRLA) was born and obtained sponsorship from Science Research Associates. Gil served as the first treasurer of WCRA.