Omar Dean Gregory was born in North Central Kansas, in the town of Osborne, on April 13, 1927, a few weeks before Charles Lindburgh completed the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. "Dr. Gregory," as those of us who learned in his TESL seminars and worked with him at the University of Kansas addressed him, pursued a career in English language teaching which took him to both coasts of the United States and as far abroad as Indonesia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Eventually, in 1970, he would resettle in Kansas, where he served as assistant professor of linguistics, as well as assistant director and, later, associate director of K.U.'s Applied English Center, until his retirement, in 1993. When he died on May 15, 2000, in Lawrence, he was survived by his wife, Irawati Sofion, who has been very active in helping the families of international students adjust to life in the K.U. community for many years.

Dr. Gregory served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from K.U. in 1949, followed by a master's from Stanford in 1951 and a doctorate from Teacher's College, Columbia University, in 1966. His ubiquitous career included teaching posts with American International College, in Springfield, Massachusetts, the American International College's Dhahran branch in Saudi Arabia, the United States Peace Corps, Teachers College, Columbia University and the University of Kansas. Dr. Gregory also served as an instructor, administrative assistant and project coordinator for the Indonesian Ministry of Education in Jakarta and Java, and director of the English Language Institute at the American University in Cairo, before returning to Kansas in 1970.

Dr. O. Dean Gregory was a member of the National Association for Foreign Student Affairs (NAFSA), Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), the Modern Language Association (MLA), the Linguistic Society of America (LSA), Kansas Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (KATESOL) and Plymouth Congregational Church, of Lawrence.

The O. Dean Gregory Festschrift will be published online and will constitute the entire monthly edition of the ESL MiniConference newsletter for October, 2003. Articles are invited on themes of interest and concern to Dr. Gregory, from anyone who interacted with him as a classmate, a colleague, a student, an employer, an employee or a friend. It is fully expected that articles will be submitted from a number of people currently living and working at locations around the globe. Full articles exploring the current data in areas of research which interested Dr. Gregory should be from 350 to 500 words in length. Remembrances which recount impressions from studying or working with Dr. Gregory should be from 200 to 350 words, please. Shorter items will be published on our Letters page.

Dr. Gregory's own meticulous care with written English will be our standard of excellence and the goal each contributor is asked to work towards in editing these texts. The O. Dean Gregory Festschrift will be celebratory in tone as we salute the positive difference and lasting impression Dr. Gregory has made in the language teaching profession. Please send your texts to festschrift@ESLminiconf.net or Editor@ESLminiconf.net, by no later than September 15, 2003.

Announcement by Robb Scott, Hays, KANSAS
Robb@ESLminiconf.net

2003 ESL MiniConference Online