Professor Craig Chaudron, graduate chair in the Department of Second 
Language Studies at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa, died Monday, 21 
August 2006. 
 
Craig Chaudron was born in 1946 in St. Louis, Missouri and was educated at 
Wabash College (BA in philosophy and French, 1968) and the University of 
Toronto's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (MEd in educational 
theory, 1976; PhD in educational linguistics, 1982). Along the way, he 
taught kindergarten in Denmark for four years and spent two years as a 
visiting assistant professor at UCLA. He joined the faculty of the 
Department of ESL (later, Second Language Studies) at the University of 
Hawai`i at Manoa in 1983 and became a full professor in 1994. During his 
23 years at UHM, he served as department chair (1990-1994) and graduate 
chair (1998-2006), among extensive other services to the department and 
university. His wife, Dr. Lucía Aranda, has also been a member of the UH 
community since 1992. 
 
Craig specialized in second language classroom research, second language 
research methods, applied psycholinguistics and discourse analysis. An 
excellent language learner, he was a fully accomplished speaker of three 
languages besides his native English (Danish, French and Spanish) and also 
spoke another three quite well (German, Norwegian and Swedish). He was a 
meticulous researcher who set rigorous standards for his own work, as well 
as that of his students, for whom he was a fine, caring mentor. He was 
well known for investing enormous effort in providing careful support, 
detailed feedback and wise advice. In the words of Shulan Ouyang, former 
student, ''The world has lost a dedicated scholar; a teacher who spent so 
much time giving suggestions to students; a mentor who helped international 
students feel at home; and above all, a person who was kind, kind, kind.'' 
 
Craig is perhaps best known internationally for his book Second Language 
Classrooms: Research on Teaching and Learning (Cambridge University Press, 
1988), which won the Modern Language Association Mildenberger Prize in 1990 
and is still regarded as the seminal work in the field nearly 20 years 
after its publication. Articles by Craig in leading refereed journals are 
required reading for graduate students in second language acquisition and 
applied linguistics around the world. His commitment to good work included 
numerous visiting professorships and collaborations with scholars in 
Europe, Asia, Australia and the Pacific Region, and across the U.S. He 
served as the North American editor of the journal Applied Linguistics 
(1989-1995), and he was twice an elected member of the Executive Board of 
the American Association of Applied Linguistics, 1989-1992 and 
2005-present. President of the association, Carol Chapelle, writes ''Craig 
has been instrumental in the success of our national professional 
organization.... We on the AAAL Executive Committee will miss our friend 
and Secretary-Treasurer who has left us so unexpectedly and so early in his 
term. Our profession will deeply miss our dedicated colleague who has 
served in so many ways for so long.'' 
 
Craig was a devoted family man, happily married to Dr. Lucía Aranda, and 
proud father of three children, Camila (age 15), Cara (age 14) and Nicolas 
(age 7). Many others felt that they were part of his ''family -- Craig was 
like a kind father to colleagues, students and friends over the years, 
upbeat, gregarious, generous with his time, incredibly kind and 
considerate, always ready to help. To say he will be sorely missed is a 
huge understatement. 
 
A UH campus memorial will be held Friday, 22 September 2006 at 4:45 pm in 
the Orvis Auditorium (Music Complex). 
 
Condolences and cards can be sent to: 
 
 Lucía Aranda 
 Department of Languages and Literatures of Europe and the Americas 
 1890 East-West Road 
 Honolulu, HI 96822 
 USA 
 
A memorial fund has been established to recognize Craig's enormous 
contributions to the University of Hawaii, the Department of Second 
Language Studies, and to the field of applied linguistics. Tax-deductible 
contributions can be made by sending a check or international money order 
payable to: 
 
 UH Foundation (with a note indicating the Craig Chaudron Memorial Fund) 
 2444 Dole Street 
 Bachman Hall 105 
 Honolulu, HI 96822 
 USA 
 
Online donations can also be made via the UH Foundation website: 
www.uhf.hawaii.edu ''make a gift'' section, by typing Craig Chaudron 
Memorial Fund in the ''other program/account'' option.