The ESL Department and the Education Technology Office are sad to announce the passing of long-time colleague Barbara Stewart on January 15, 2007.

Barbara first started working for the District in 1978 as an ESL instructor at the Indochinese Training Project. Barbara loved working with refugees, helping them learn job skills and survive in their new country. After ITP, she taught at the Chinatown/North Beach Center. In 1992 she moved to the Ocean Campus. She retired from the College in 2005.

Barbara’s keen interest in technology and photography, coupled with her literary and organizational skills, led her to contribute to the development of our current support systems for faculty use of technology in teaching. Barbara coauthored the 1995 Title III grant activity which focused on developing educational technology for student success. She contributed to the drafting of the 1997 Education Technology Master Plan and to the creation of the Teaching and Learning Technology Roundtable. These efforts led to the establishment of the Education Technology Office in 2001. She then took on the position of Technology Learning Center Coordinator.

Barbara infused that position with her unique vision and energy. She coordinated staff and faculty technology training, set up the TLC and the Help Desk for the ETO, coordinated the remodeling for the ETO facilities on the 3rd floor of Batmale and the faculty training lab in Rosenberg 210. She authored the TLC website and coordinated the 2003 Desktop Rollout, developing a training program for the rollout and establishing a website for tracking and training.

During this time, she collaborated on education technology initiatives for online courses and the faculty homepage template, tackling both with intellectual generosity coupled with her personal warmth. In every endeavor that Barbara took on, she brought her sharp intellect, wacky and witty sense of humor and incredible heart.

From City Currents, Vol. XXI • Issue 24 February 19–25, 2007