Former Department Chair Donna J. Gustafson Leaves Generous Legacy
for Dept. of World Languages and Literatures
We are saddened by the recent passing of Donna Gustafson, former professor and chair of the Department of World Languages and Literatures. And while she will be remembered as a valued colleague who greatly expanded language offerings at SJSU, she will also be remembered for her generosity and the legacy a gift from her estate has provided her former department.
“Donna Gustafson was a dedicated teacher, a generous colleague and someone truly devoted to San José State University,” says Carmen Sigler, former provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at SJSU. “During her tenure as Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages, Professor Gustafson spearheaded the development of baccalaureate degrees in Chinese and Japanese and the establishment of the departmental language laboratory. She was also instrumental in the hiring of a significant number of tenure-track faculty members in Spanish and French, Latin and Greek, as well as Chinese and Japanese, and she served as a role model and mentor for many of us.
“While I was deeply saddened to hear the news of her death,” Sigler continues, “I was not surprised to learn of her bequest because she was genuinely committed to student success. When I assumed the chairmanship of the department following her retirement, her parting words of advice for me were: ‘When faced with a difficult decision, think of the students first.’”
Department Chair Damian Bacich reiterates this sentiment, saying, “Faculty in our department have a reputation for taking care of our students and fostering a strong community. This gift from Donna is just one more example of faculty commitment to student success. We can’t overstate how much impact a generous gift like this has on students, as well as faculty. Dr. Gustafson’s contribution to the department continues long after her retirement.”
The World Languages and Literature Department at SJSU offers the only M.A. in Spanish in the CSU system, not only in the South Bay, but south to the Los Angeles basin. Dr. Bacich says, “Because of the costs of living in or near San José, our students frequently make sacrifices to pursue their graduate degrees. While there is some support for graduate and undergraduate students in the form of Teaching Assistantships and the Meta Marion Goldsmith Scholarship,” Dr. Bacich continues, “this gift greatly expands the support we can give to our students.”
The Department of World Languages and Literatures at San José State University offers programs of study in Chinese, French, German, classical Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Persian/Farsi, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Additionally, the department contributes to the preparation of teachers by offering courses in subject-matter teacher preparation, and supervised teacher training leading to a secondary teaching credential (awarded in conjunction with the College of Education.)
“In addition to the wide variety of languages we currently offer,” Dr. Bacich says, “we’re also proud to offer the opportunity to study Assyrian through Special Session—especially in light of the ongoing tragedies in that part of the world, and the attack on the culture of the Assyrian people.”
The Department of World Languages and Literatures is sponsoring two upcoming events. In conjunction with the Mexican American Studies Department, the department will host a literary conversation with Mexican American Author Santiago Vaquera-Vásquez on October 14th. The department is also celebrating 400 years of the second part of Don Quixote, featuring the recently released book Approaches to Teaching Cervantes’ Don Quixote, which is edited by Dean of the College Lisa Vollendorf, who also has a chapter in the book.
Upcoming WLL Events:
On a Journey: A Conversation with author Santiago Vaquero-Vásquez
Wednesday, October 14, at MLK Library (time and room TBD).
Celebrating the 400th Anniversary of Don Quixote
Tuesday, October 20, at MLK Library room 225 5-7pm.
