By Kelsey O’Connor
John Keshishoglou, founding dean of the Ithaca College School of Communications, passed away Aug. 24 from pancreatic cancer. He was 79. His impact and memory linger not only at the college, but also worldwide. Keshishoglou was born in northern Greece, worked as a photojournalist for the Greek and foreign press, and served in the Greek Army for two years. After an honorable discharge, he went to the United States to further his education. There he received a B.A. from Morningside College, an M.A. from the University of Iowa and a Ph.D. in mass media and instructional design from Syracuse University. Known as “Dr. Kesh,” he joined the college community in 1965 as chair of the Department of Television-Radio and director of the Instructional Resources Center. In 1971, after the creation of the communications school, he became dean and held the position until 1979. Diane Gayeski, current dean of the communications school, was a student while Keshishoglou was dean and said he brought incredible vision and energy to the college community. “There wouldn’t be a school of communications without him,” she said. “He was willing to battle administration and personally put his own reputation on the line to promote what he really knew could be the school of communications.”
Kevin Michael By Erica Palumbo Kevin Michael, a multimedia support technician in the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, passed away. In an email sent out to the Park School community, David Priester, the director of the school’s technical operations, said the school’s faculty received news of Michael’s passing Nov. 14. Priester said his death was unexpected. Junior Rob Flaherty, a television-radio major, said he heard about Michael’s passing Sunday night through peers. He said Michael was known by almost everyone in the Park School for his eagerness to help. “He was sort of the go-to guy for any video editing or software issues,” Flaherty said. “He always did it with this really good sense of humor about everything.” Michael worked at the Park School for 25 years, serving most recently as the multimedia service technician.
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John Keshishoglou
In Memoriam
From left, Rudy Paolangeli, Ronald Nicoson, Rod Serling and John Keshishoglou pose Oct. 19, 1967, at one of Serling’s public lectures. Keshishoglou, informally known as “Dr. Kesh,” brought Serling to the college as a visiting professor. Hadley Smith Photo Collection/ Ithaca COllege
Emilio Lopez-Arias By Nicole Ogrysko Emilio Lopez-Arias, lecturer of modern languages and literatures at Ithaca College, passed away Sept. 2 of a sudden heart attack. He was 54. A Spanish native, Lopez-Arias came to the college in 2009 to join his brother Julio, also a professor at the college. Lopez-Arias lived with his wife, Elena Elinova, in Ithaca. Michael Richardson, associate professor and chair of modern languages and literatures, described Lopez-Arias as a “tireless educator.” Lopez-Arias taught Spanish courses at the college in the morning and classes at SUNY-Cortland in the afternoon. Christopher Gascon, associate professor and chair of the language department at Cortland, said Lopez-Arias will be difficult to replace, since many students consistently took classes with him. “It wasn’t at all uncommon for students to, once they’ve taken his course, look for him and sign up for his section in a subsequent course,” he said. “He seemed to have that loyal following amongst the students.” Richardson said Lopez-Arias was a warm, friendly colleague. “He always struck me as someone who was very concerned about how his students were doing,” he said. “He put a lot of effort into his preparation for his classes.” Lopez-Arias’ death came as a shock to the entire language department. Richardson said he knew Lopez-Arias was diagnosed with cancer over the summer, and the recent heart attack may have been related to a blood clot from the cancer.
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