Jean Zukowski/Faust, a professor of English whose 42-year career took her from Turkey to Tucson to Poland and Flagstaff, died July 17, 2006. She was 65.
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Dr. Zukowski/Faust was a professor and associate professor in Northern Arizona University’s Department of English since 1984. She taught a variety of courses and held special interest in teaching English as a second language, bilingual education, editing and grammar.
Born April 3, 1941, in Iron Mountain, Mich., Dr. Zukowski/Faust earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin in 1966 and her master’s in English as a second language from the University of Arizona in 1973. She earned her doctorate in applied linguistics and English education from the UofA in 1978.
She taught English from 1964 to 1971 at three institutions in Turkey before moving to the University of Arizona’s Department of English from 1972 to 1984, when she moved to NAU. From 1990 to 1992, while on leave from NAU, Dr. Zukowski/Faust was associate director of the U.S. Peace Corps in Poland, for which she was awarded a 1992 Medal of Honor from Poland’s Ministry of National Education.
She was fluent in both Turkish and Polish.
“Jean will be sorely missed and long remembered by her colleagues and students in the English department, the Flagstaff community, and teachers of English as a second language in Arizona, around the United States and beyond,” said NAU professor Fredricka Stoller, a long-time colleague. “Jean truly made a profound impact on everyone she came into contact with. She was a devoted teacher, an excellent mentor and a caring human being.”
Stoller said Dr. Zukowski/Faust was a strong supporter of the “disenfranchised”—the non-English speakers for whom she worked diligently to give them access to the language.
“Even while battling her illness so bravely and valiantly, Jean continued to teach,” Stoller continued. “She felt at home in the classroom and thoroughly enjoyed sharing her knowledge and creating new knowledge with her students. NAU is a better place because of its 22-year association with Jean. The lessons she taught us all, I’m sure, will endure.”
Professor Mary McGroarty, another long-time colleague, said Dr. Zukowski/Faust’s “remarkable career—based on a love of language, literature, life, and people—embodies the best aspects of devotion to teaching.”
“All teachers fortunate enough to work with her found her an inspiring model,” McGroarty said. “They knew she had a profound respect for all practitioners dedicated to fine teaching.”
Dr. Zukowski/Faust was a pioneer in concerns related to bilingual education and English as a second language instruction, McGroarty pointed out, and helped found NAU’s master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language and the NAU Program in Intensive English, which serves students from around the globe.
Dr. Zukowski/Faust wrote more than 25 textbooks for English language learners. She was a frequent speaker and workshop presenter at state, national and international conferences. She served as a director-at-large on the board of directors of the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, known as TESOL, the U.S.-based international professional association for English language teachers; she was a long-time member of the Arizona TESOL executive board, chaired three AZ-TESOL state conferences and served three years as editor and desktop publisher of the AZ-TESOL Newsletter.
In 1997, 1999 and 2004 she was awarded the AZ-TESOL’s Distinguished Service Award.
“Her colleagues and students, along with the hundreds of language teachers she has influenced in Arizona and around the world, mourn her loss and celebrate her extraordinary life and distinguished career,” McGroarty said.
A rosary will be said for Dr. Zukowski/Faust at 7 p.m. July 23 at St. Pius X church, 2257 E. Cedar, Flagstaff, followed by a visitation and remembrance at 7:30. Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. July 24 at St. Pius with burial at 11 a.m. at Calvary Cemetery, 201 W. University Dr. A lunch will follow at noon at St. Pius.
The family suggests contributions be made to the NAU Foundation for the Jean Zukowski/Faust Memorial Scholarship Fund, PO Box 4094, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-4094. ###