BETTY CANTINO died on Dec. 23, 2018. Cantino joined the MSU College of Education in 1967 as an academic advisor, a position she held through her retirement in 1991. Upon her retirement, she received a Diploma of Merit from the MSU Board of Trustees for her outstanding service to the college.
DONALD J. FREEMAN died on Nov. 21, 2017. A faculty member in the college from 1966-89, Freeman was a senior researcher in the Institute for Research on Teaching. He was a key member of the Content Determinants Project, a 10-year study that examined what factors influenced upper elementary teachers’ choices about what content to teach during mathematics. This research, among others, helped influence approaches to teaching and learning.
Alumnus GUS GANAKAS died on Jan. 11, 2019. He graduated in 1949 with a degree in Physical Education and joined the MSU Athletics Department in 1964. He coached the men’s basketball team from 1969-76, and then served as an assistant athletic director from 1976-98. Prior to his retirement in 2000, Ganakas also served as an aide to current men’s basketball head coach, Tom Izzo. In 2016, he received the Eldon VanSpybrook Retired Coaches Award during the annual MSU Varsity S Club Awards.
Alumnus and educator KHALEL HAKIM died on Nov. 17, 2018. A 2014 graduate of the Curriculum, Instruction and Teacher Education doctoral program, Hakim taught TE 250 and methods courses and supervised interns in the field. In 2015, he joined the Office of K-12 Outreach, where he worked in Flint Community Schools to help elementary and middle school teachers develop engaging math practices. He also worked on a statewide project, funded through the Michigan Department of Education, focused on improving the schooling experience of African American males across the state.
DON E. HAMACHEK, a professor in the college for nearly 40 years, died on Jan. 3, 2018. During his time at MSU from 1960-99, Hamachek wrote several books, including “Encounters with the Self” (four editions, from 1971-92) and “Encounters with Others: Interpersonal Relationships and You” (1982). Among his research, he was known for his studies on perfectionism. A 1978 study, still referenced and mentioned in current research, examined the psychodynamics of normal and neurotic perfectionism and ways to help change individual reactions.
Professor WALTER G. HAPKIEWICZ died on Nov. 3, 2018. Hapkiewicz was part of the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education from 1970 through his retirement in 2005. His research focused on the psychology of learning and instruction, and the effects of mass media on children’s behavior, particularly on the learning of aggression. He provided consultantships to and worked with a variety of schools and school districts across Michigan and internationally, including in Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Iran, the Philippines and England.
RICHARD G. JOHNSON, a professor in the College of Education, died on July 2, 2018. Johnson joined the staff in 1967 and retired in 1994. As part of what is now known as the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education, Johnson focused on training students, and in particular graduate students, who were interested in becoming school counselors.
Professor Emeritus WILLIAM “BILL” JOYCE died on June 25, 2018. On the MSU faculty for more than 45 years, beginning in 1964, Joyce focused on social studies education and had a particular interest in Canadian studies. He served as interim director (1989-90) and then as director of the Canadian Studies Center from 1995-2001. He later served as outreach coordinator and deputy director of the center. Joyce became a full professor in the College of Education in 1971 and retired in 2009.
BARBARA REEVES, former secretary for the Department of Teacher Education, died on Sept. 7, 2018. Reeves was an English teacher prior to joining MSU in 1974, where she remained in the college until she was elected president of the Clerical Technical Union of MSU. Reeves was president during 1977-81, and then again in 1999 through her retirement in 2004. Among her legacies in the college and community, Reeves had organized blood drives, book sales and numerous other projects.
ROBERT RHOADS, former associate professor in the Department of Educational Administration, died on Oct. 25, 2018. Rhoads received his tenure at MSU, where he was on faculty from 1995-2000, and ran the Student Affairs Administration program for several years. He was a scholar dedicated to student activism and diversity, and was particularly interested in international and comparative higher education university reform in China. He joined the University of California, Los Angeles in 2004.
Professor WILLIAM H. ROE died on Jan. 25, 2018. Roe joined the faculty in 1952 when the institution was still the School of Education at Michigan State College (the name changed to both a college and university in 1954) and he remained as part of the faculty until 1965. His research focused on administration and administration services, before becoming the dean of education at the University of Connecticut.
Cantino, Freeman, Hamachek, Hapkiewicz, Johnson, Joyce and Roe photos courtesy of Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections.
Hakim photo courtesy of Sonya Hakim.
Ganakas photo courtesy of MSU Varsity S Club.