—2— President’s Message LARRY SAWYER It is time to think ahead to spring. Your board is asking for nominations for exemplary awards for both staff and faculty. These awards are for activities after retirement in the fields of service to the community, service to the University, service to RAPS, and professional achievements. We also have a special recognition award. Vic Dahl was last year’s special award recipient for his RAPS Sheet obituaries. Bob Tufts is the awards committee chair this year. The awards will be presented at the April President’s Luncheon. It is also time to nominate candidates for RAPS Board of Directors officers. This year we will be electing a recording secretary, a president-elect, a treasurer, and a member at large. Doug Swanson will be stepping down as theRAPS Sheet editor after the June 2010 issue. Editor is an appointed position, but we welcome suggestions for a new editor. You can send your nominations for the awards and board officers to the RAPS Office by letter; voicemail at 503-725-3447; or e-mail at raps@pdx.edu. Please leave your name along with the nomination so that the committee can contact you for additional details on the nominee’s qualifications. Helen Irwin Schley, a faculty member in PSU’s first intensive English as a Second Language program from 1964 to 1984 and a longtime and active RAPS member, died peacefully on Nov. 25. Mrs. Schley, born Sept. 30, 1913, into a pioneer Oregon family, attended Portland-area public schools. In 1935 she graduated from Reed College and the Museum Art School, earning a bachelor’s degree in art and humanities and qualifying for a secondary education teaching certificate. In 1952 she married Robert Schley, an artist, and to their union two children, Deborah and Laurie, were born. While rearing their family, Mrs. Schley continued to teach English to immigrants, albeit on a reduced basis. When Robert quite unexpectedly died of a heart attack in 1964, Helen quickly found a venue to resume her teaching career. At that juncture, PSU’s Middle East Studies Center’s director, Prof. Frederick J. Cox, had recently developed an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Educational Mission at the United Nations to provide English language preparation for a limited number of Saudi students. To that end, Naguib F. Greis, a professor of Arabic language and a linguistic specialist, had organized various levels of English classes for non-speakers, and recruited appropriately qualified faculty members. Thus, in fall 1964, Mrs. Schley became a pioneer ESL faculty member in what ultimately emerged as an enduring, highly respected PSU instructional activity. In memoriam: Helen (Irwin) Schley (1913-2009) During the ensuing years, Portland State’s ESL program expanded dramatically and ultimately undergirded the Department of Applied Linguistics’ teacher training certificate and graduate curricular offerings. Upon retirement in 1984, Mrs. Schley was appointed senior instructor emerita in English as a Second Language. For students and colleagues alike, Mrs. Schley’s reputation as a caring, skillful classroom teacher reached legendary proportions. According to Marjorie Terdal, ESL professor emerita: “Helen served as mentor for many of the new ESL faculty in the ‘70s and early ‘80s. She would give us advice on teaching grammar points that we, as native speakers of English, had not even considered before—such as the difference between a countable and noncountable noun. After she retired she sometimes visited my TESOL Methods classes. She would write notes to me with suggestions and questions about what I was telling these future ESL teachers.” Survivors include daughters Deborah Schley and Laurie Senauke, brother Richard Irwin, and many family members. To them, our organization extends heartfelt condolences. The University community owes Mrs. Schley a debt of gratitude for long years of selfless efforts that contributed significantly to our academic mission. Obituary notices appeared inThe Oregonian on Nov. 28 and Dec. 9, 2009, and may be consulted in the RAPS Office. —Victor C. Dahl, Professor Emeritus of History and Marjorie Terdal, Professor Emerita of Applied Linguistics
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