June 13, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two Northern Arizona University professors are continuing their legacy of research and scholarship in applied linguistics by creating a distinguished endowed professorship in the College of Arts and Letters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fredricka L. Stoller<\/strong>, an alumna and professor of English, and retired Regents\u2019 Professor Emeritus and former Vice President for Research William Grabe<\/strong> have created the Stoller-Grabe Endowed Distinguished Professorship in Applied Linguistics\/Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL). The new position, which will be the first distinguished endowed professorship in the College of Arts and Letters, will support the second-language classroom-based empirical research and scholarly activities of a distinguished professor whose work in the field will substantially advance the discipline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stoller and\nGrabe, who have a collective 70 years at NAU, share a commitment to applied\nlinguistics research, TESL teacher training and a desire to make a difference\nin the lives of non-native English speakers, which motivated their gifts that\nwill establish and endow a distinguished professorship in Applied\nLinguistics\/TESL. The hiring of an endowed distinguished professor will enhance\nthe university\u2019s academic reputation among students, applied linguists and\neducators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFredricka and Bill embody the Lumberjack spirit through their passion and commitment to NAU,\u201d President Rita Cheng<\/strong> said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTheir generosity will attract an eminent scholar to follow in their footsteps, to inspire generations of students and to create collaborations among applied linguistics and TESL faculty. Like they have, the distinguished professor supported by their endowment will forge new paths in applied linguistics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The endowment\nwill not only help to empower teachers and improve the language-learning\nabilities of students in the classroom but also will strengthen the national\nand international reputations of NAU\u2019s Applied Linguistics and TESL program. Both\nprofessors were instrumental in the formation of NAU\u2019s Program in Intensive\nEnglish and in the creation of the Applied Linguistics Ph.D. program in 1990\u2014the\nonly Ph.D. program in the College of Arts and Letters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sharing a love for second language research, teacher training and classroom teaching, Stoller and Grabe have traveled the world together to give teacher-training lectures and workshops and exchange ideas with other scholars to improve English language learning globally. They have mentored more than 40 applied linguistics Ph.D. graduates and hundreds of MA-TESL graduates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNAU allowed us to\ngrow professionally and is helping us contribute to our fields through the\nclasses we teach and the students we mentor,\u201d Stoller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy years in NAU\nhigher administration also raised my awareness of the need to give back to NAU\nand support NAU\u2019s research and teaching missions,\u201d Grabe said. \u201cI am proud to have\nhelped change the research reputation and profile of the university, and we are\nhappy to continue contributing to that vision.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"