KUIA 2020 Retirees

Representing more than 100 years of service to KU, five KU International Affairs employees retired at the end of 2020. Over the past several decades, the group made significant contributions to KUIA’s mission of international education. 

Applied English Center

Rex Armstrong started at the AEC in 1986 as a student assistant and then began teaching speaking and grammar courses as a graduate teaching assistant. He completed his master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) from KU in 1987, and was hired on as an AEC lecturer in 1991. Armstrong had the opportunity to teach English as a foreign language at Kanagawa University in Japan for eight years. He then returned to the AEC as a multi-term lecturer in 2008, and has worked in various capacities during his tenure. He has primarily taught pronunciation and listening/speaking/grammar courses for the Intensive English Program and Short Programs (all skill levels, basic to advanced), served on several committees that focused on research and development of diagnostic and proficiency testing, worked as a course coordinator, developed the curriculum for several pronunciation courses, and has served on the AEC faculty evaluation committee. Throughout his career, Armstong has taught English as a second language in California, China, Poland and Japan. He was the recipient of the 2010 Betty Soppelsa Excellence in Teaching Award.

Ann Tilson began working at the AEC in 1993 as a graduate teaching assistant and conversation group coordinator. She received her master’s degree in TESL from KU in 1998 and was hired on as an AEC lecturer that same year. Tilson has served in many roles at the AEC, ranging from teaching and cross-cultural advising to course coordinating and course development – just to name a few. She has served on the AEC faculty evaluation committee and was the recipient of the 2005 Betty Soppelsa Excellence in Teaching Award. In 2016 Tilson received a medical writing and editing certificate from the University of Chicago, Graham School. This gave Tilson a unique skillset as she helped develop an English for health professions/respiratory care course for the AEC and KUMC. She has taught a variety of courses for the Intensive English Program, Academic Accelerator Program, Grad Prep, and Short Programs; specifically, in the areas of writing and grammar. Tilson was also an integral member of the AEC’s cross-cultural advising team.

Barbara Yoder received her master’s degree in TESL from the University of Illinois in 1985. She has master’s degrees in art history and visual arts education as well. Prior to her work at the AEC, she taught English as a Second Language in China, Japan, Malaysia and other institutions in Kansas. She was hired as a multi-term lecturer in 2007 and has primarily taught levels two and three of reading/writing/grammar courses for the Intensive English Program. In addition to teaching, Yoder also served as a course coordinator for Level 3 Grammar. Yoder was the editor of the AEC Newsline student newsletter and is an active member of the arts community.

International Short Programs

Margaret Coffey, director of International Short Programs, began her KU career 34 years ago at the Applied English Center. She was promoted through four academic staff positions from instructor to senior language specialist. During that time, Coffey coordinated curriculum and instruction for approximately 300 course sections, collaborated with and mentored more than 175 AEC faculty and graduate teaching assistants, and published two textbooks for English language learners.

In 2001, Coffey was appointed AEC associate director for special programs, a position she held through 2018. In 2019 Coffey was named the inaugural director for International Short Programs (ISP), the newest unit in KU International Affairs. Working in collaboration with KU faculty and departments, international partners, and NGOs, the vision Coffey set for ISP was to provide a space for incoming visiting international students and professionals to have a transformative academic and cultural experience at KU and in the Midwest. Coffey was the founding chair of TESOL’s Intercultural & Communication Interest Section, providing a home base for the research and discussion of intercultural communication in English language learning. Coffey was the founder of the AEC’s cross-cultural advising office for which she had oversight for 14 years. An outgrowth of her commitment to advising resulted in a NAFSA publication Intercultural Advising in English-Language Programs with Susan Grace.

She brought 26 distinct programs and approximately 1,900 students and professionals to campus, including 11 federally funded or

International Support Services

Michael Ediger, associate director for International Support Services, managed the programming and retention functions of the office, while serving as an immigration advisor for the campus international student community. Prior to his arrival at KU in 1998, he worked for 20 years in student housing at Fort Hays State University. He accrued more than four decades of experience organizing orientations and training programs, developing co-curricular activities, advising students and mentoring student leadership groups.

Ediger served a term as chair of the Kansas International Educators (KIE) organization, was the state representative on the NAFSA: Association of International Educators Region II Team, and co-chaired the local arrangements for a NAFSA regional conference. He routinely presented on topics related to international student advising, new student orientation and intercultural engagement at meetings and conferences on the local, state, regional and national level.

Ediger was staff advisor to the International Student Association and spent 16 years directing the international student orientation program, YOU at KU. Other noteworthy contributions include collaborating on the production of The DSO’s Toolbox, a comprehensive professional training workshop for international student advisors; creating the International Family Connections initiative in response to the demolition of the former Stouffer Place apartment complex where international families once resided; and serving on the steering committee for the Lawrence Friendship Family Program. He launched the International Leader Quest project, which acknowledges international student leaders for their contributions to campus and community organizations, and created the Nexus Award to honor graduating domestic students who inspired and fostered positive engagement and relationships between domestic and international students. Ediger is the recipient of the national Phi Beta Delta Edward S. Blankenship Outstanding Staff Award and the 2019 NAFSA Region II Bruce Tracy Award.