In Memoriam
Remembering Kathy Heilenman
Associate Professor L. Kathy Heilenman, 64, passed away on July 31, 2009, in Iowa City after a lengthy struggle with breast cancer.
Remembered as an influential language scholar, teacher, and mentor in the fields of second language acquisition and language pedagogy, Heilenman directly touched the lives of the hundreds of students, young scholars, and colleagues who were fortunate enough to work with her, and indirectly the thousands of students who learned French through her textbook, Voilà, a first-year college French textbook, now in its fourth edition.
“Kathy Heilenman was the kind of professor every student dreams of having,” said Northwestern Illinois Associate Professor Michael Morris (MA ‘90/PhD ’97), a former student. “Aside from her vast experience and her depth of knowledge, she was fair, kind, encouraging, and generous with her time. She treated her students as professionals and equals from whom she could learn just as they learned from her.”
Graduate student Aurore Mroz concurs. “Where do you start when you try to find the right words to honor someone who has literally defined who you are?” Mroz said. “Kathy was my first landmark in the United States. She was my mentor, my friend, my safety net, my guide, and someone I admired.”
Heilenman received her doctorate from the University of Louisville. She taught French at the middle school, high school and post-secondary levels and directed French programs and taught second language teaching/learning/acquisition at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Northwestern University (Chicago), and Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge) before coming to the University of Iowa in 1989.
At the UI she held joint faculty appointments in the Department of French and Italian and the Department of Teaching and Learning. She directed the French language program and taught courses in Second Language Acquisition, Foreign Language Education, and French language. She was also a founding co-director of Foreign Language Acquisition Research and Education (FLARE) and its doctoral program in Second Language Acquisition.
“Kathy demonstrated unfailing wisdom, kindness and strength in all of her interactions with both students and colleagues alike,” Professors Leslie Schrier and Michael Everson wrote. “She taught us how the tenacity of spirit can overcome the failings of the body. We will use her work ethic and tenacity as a metric in our actions and will carry her with us as a moral and academic role model for years to come.”
When not engaged in her academic activities, she could always be found outdoors with her dogs. She was known and respected by working dog fanciers throughout the world, where she is remembered as a true leader, a tireless supporter, and an effective teacher not only about canine partners, but about life itself.
Emeritus Associate Professor Bill Duffy, 77, passed away June 23, 2009.
Duffy, who specialized in the philosophy of education, was an interesting character in the College of Education where he worked for 29 years.
“Bill was the most lovable curmudgeon I’ve ever known,” said Richard Tiegs (MA ‘83/PhD ‘91), a former graduate student of Duffy’s. “His goal was to awaken in his students the ability to think for themselves and defend their reasoning. He didn’t always agree, but he kept you on your toes.”
Associate Professor Scott McNabb agreed.
“Bill Duffy was a truly kind man craftily residing in the body of a curmudgeon—a colleague who was respected for his integrity and intelligence—and a friend who will be missed for his loyalty and honesty and humor,” McNabb said. “I will think of him when I smell cigar smoke, hear an off-the-wall ‘academic’ joke, and when I need to be reminded why we are here.”
Associate Provost and Dean of Continuing Education and long-time colleague Chet Rzonca remembers Duffy as “a unique professor, whose sharp wit matched his intelligence, wisdom, and knowledge of the philosophy of education. He worked diligently to develop faculty and students and gave freely of his time to both. His views addressed issues, not personalities; he followed rules but was free to question them; and as a teacher encouraged his students to do the same.”
Duffy served as coordinator of his program and DEO of his division for six years.
“He was smart and savvy as a DEO,” said David Bills, associate dean for academic affairs and graduate programs. “He always provided exactly the kind of leadership that was needed. Nobody ever slipped anything by him.”
Having served as an aircraft carrier fireman in WWII, Duffy attended college using his G.I. benefits. While many events shape an individual, this combination of events defined a person who had met the most exacting academic standards of a respected University and lived through hell.
But Duffy had a great sense of humor, delighting in puns and jokes, which he shared regularly.
Tiegs said Duffy’s “Philosophy of Education” course was his naïve introduction to graduate studies at Iowa.
“He stated right up front that it was his intention to offend us at some point in the class,” Tiegs recalled. “Almost 30 years later, I’m still waiting to be offended by him.”
“You don’t find many people like Bill Duffy in universities anymore—utterly irreverent,” Bills said. “He was a boxer in his younger days and brought that pugnacious attitude to work with him. He was a real intellectual who could talk all day about almost everything. And most of all, he was a great teacher.”
