Akron University

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The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio
Where Michael taught in 2011, his parents taught before retirement, and where Andrew is going to college.

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As you can read below, the University of Akron is very important to our family. Michael's parents are retired from the faculty, Michael taught there in 2011, and our son Andrew is now studying there!

 

With the Student Union (left) and historic Buchtel Hall in the background, Andrew and other freshmen baked in the August 2011 sunshine for this "welcome" convocation.

This is the Honors Dorm where Andrew lives. It is one of the newest residence halls on campus, reserved for students with particularly good grades. (Right) Michael's mom and dad give Andrew some "final advice" before we say goodbye; we lived with his grandparents in 2010-11, but moved back to China soon after taking this picture.

In February 2011, I (Michael) started teaching in the English Language Institute at the University of Akron in Ohio. This is an intensive English program, designed to help international students learn English quickly so they can attend regular university classes in the USA.

 

The brick building in the center is the original classroom building, dating back to about 1870. Many of the other buildings were constructed in the 1960s, but there are new buildings too, like the Student Union toward the left of this photo. The university is most famous for it's polymer science and engineering programs. The 2011 "spring" term started in one of the coldest winters in Ohio's history, so for many months we saw everything covered with snow. I grew up in Ohio, but I certainly don't remember being surrounded with this much snow for such a long time!

I teach "Intermediate Writing" to 35 students. This is "most" of my 2:15 class. This class also has six Saudi Arabian women, but one said her husband did not allow her to be photographed, so the others "sat out" with her. Most of the students in Akron University's ELI are from Saudi Arabia, but this class also has one student from Taiwan and one from Burma.

Here is my 3:20 p.m. class. Classes meet for under an hour, every day. The students have about 20 hours of class per week, with four teachers. This class has seven Muslim women, three of whom agreed to join the photo. My one non-Saudi student in this class is from Korea.

My office is on the third floor of Orr Hall. My classes are in three other buildings, depending on which day of the week it is. Both of my parents taught at Akron U, but the campus has changed a lot from how I remember it as a teen. My mother's building (Early Childhood Education) doesn't even exist any more.

This is the university's Business Administration training center, where my father (Dr. Krigline!) was a professor for over 20 years, serving many of those years as the Department Head. There is something wonderful about being on staff where my parents once taught!

     

When I was growing up, the University of Akron was a "commuter school." That means that none of the students lived on campus, and instead drove (or "commuted") to class. Today, many students live on campus, and thus there are various activities to enjoy on campus, such as the annual ice sculpting competition. Aren't these ice sculptures wonderful? The last photo is of a kangaroo, which is the school's mascot (i.e., the "animal" that symbolizes the school, especially regarding the sports program).

Vivian took these two photos during an exploratory visit in the fall of 2010, when Andrew was still trying to figure out where to attend college.

When everything has been covered in snow for so long, it is hard to remember the campus being this green, but seasons DO change and we need ALL of them!

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