Jeannette Marie Ludwig
Jeannette Marie Ludwig, professor of romance languages, world religions, and French linguistics at State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo) and Distinguished Service Professor, was born in Denver, Colorado, on September 29, 1949, to George and Ruth (Mann) Ludwig and died in Buffalo, New York, on July 29, 2018. She also taught history of the French language, Buddhism, and language in a socio-cultural setting. Aside from her work at SUNY Buffalo, Ludwig was active at Westminster Presbyterian Church, the Buffalo Zen Dharma Community, and several other community organizations.
She and her husband, Claude E. Welch Jr., also a Distinguished Service Professor and professor of political science at SUNY Buffalo, created a scholarship fund for students studying abroad, the Welch-Ludwig Fund for International Study. They traveled widely, cataloging their experiences in a collection that is preserved at the SUNY Buffalo Archives in the Welch-Ludwig collection.
Ludwig was both a home owner and active participant at the Chautauqua Institute in Southwestern New York State. She and Welch donated their home, which they bought in 1997, to the Chautauqua Foundation and are members of the Eleanor B. Daugherty Society.
Education edit
Ludwig grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. In high school, she was a foreign exchange student through the American Field Service and spent a year in Sweden, where she became fluent in the language and was introduced to Buddhism. She enrolled at Drake University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1971. With a scholarship from The Rotary Foundation in 1972–73, she studied Lettres Modernes at Université de Strasbourg, France. She was a Rotary International Graduate Fellow.
Ludwig continued her post-graduate studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, receiving her doctorate in romance languages in 1977. Her dissertation was “Vocabulary Acquisition in Learners of French.” She began her teaching career at University of Michigan as a teaching assistant in French and romance linguistics in 1971 and again from 1973 through 1977.
In 1998, she studied comparative religions at Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, New York, where she earned a Master of Arts in Theology. Her thesis title was “Orthopraxis and Orthodoxy: Buddhist-Christian Dialogue in a Pluralistic World.”
Academic Career edit
In 1977, Ludwig joined SUNY Buffalo’s Faculty of Romance Languages as an assistant professor of French and was promoted to associate professor in 1983. She taught graduate and undergraduate courses on comparative religions, Asian religions, and Buddhism in the Religious Studies and Asian Studies departments. She piloted courses in American pluralism, women’s language, freshman colloquia, and methods of inquiry.
In addition to teaching, Ludwig served several administrative positions for SUNY, both in Buffalo and statewide. She was director of French language instruction from September 1977 until her retirement in 2016, director of graduate studies (French) from 1995 to 2000, and director of undergraduate studies from 2004 until her retirement. In addition, she was associate dean of the Faculty of Arts and Letters from September 1983 until May 1987 and joined the Office of Teaching Effectiveness in September 1990 as acting director, serving as director in 1992–93. She was also associate vice provost for Undergraduate Education in 1992–03.
Ludwig’s contributions to Campus Life included leading seminars for the Division of Student Affairs Life Workshops in conjunction with Campus Ministry, including “Women’s Language” in 1984 and “Intimacy, Sexuality, and Values” in 1988. She was faculty speaker at the president’s convocation in 1988, 1989, and 1990; graduate school orientation in 1993; freshman orientation 1994–98 and 2001–16; and guest lecturer for east coast orientation for Fulbright Scholars 1991–93, 1998, and 1999. She was also the keynote speaker, Residence Hall Development Conference on Leadership in 1996, facilitator for residence halls on Religion vs. Spirituality in 2002, keynote speaker for Phi Eta Sigma induction in 2002, and for Students and Spirituality for residence hall professional staff development in 2006.
Addressing women's issues, she lectured at New York State Council for Women’s Rights, Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy (SUNY Buffalo); American Association of Colleges and Universities; and the New York State Women’s Bar Association.
Ludwig received the Cardinal Newman Award for service to the university in 2015 and the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching in May 1980, as well as the Didaskalos Award for most valuable faculty/staff contribution to student life, Campus Ministries Association, May 1992, and Gold Key National Honor Society, March 1990. She was listed in Who’s Who in the East.
Ludwig’s professional memberships included the American Association of Higher Education, Association for the Study of Higher Education, American Association of Teachers of French, American Council of Foreign Language Teachers, and Northeast Modern Language Association.
Cultural and Community Life edit
Ludwig contributed to Buffalo and Western New York through presentations and trainings for established civic and religious institutions. She was a presenter and consultant on Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and Women in Religion for area high schools, hospitals, and community groups such as AIDS Family Services, Buffalo Council of World Affairs (International Institute of Buffalo), the National Conference for Community and Justice, and the Network of Religious Communities, as well as local churches (Baptist, Episcopal, Lutheran, Mormon, Presbyterian, and Unitarian).
Her training and workshop sessions on gender and communication informed diverse professional and social organizations such as law firms, the Internal Revenue Service, the New York State Council of Community Education, the Junior League, United Way, the YWCA, and SUNY Buffalo’s Department of Family Medicine. She also met with supervisors of several federal agencies, including the Coast Guard, National Park Service, Housing and Urban Development, and the National Transportation Safety Board.
She was a volunteer reader for the Niagara Frontier Radio Reading service for the visually impaired and print handicapped; served on the Board of Directors of the Network of Religious Communities from 2005 until her death; the Advisory Board on Multifaith Education, Auburn Seminary, New York City, April 2005–May 2007; and a National reader and grader for Ordination Exams, U.S. Presbyterian Church throughout the 1990s. She and Welch were volunteers at Habitat for Humanity.
Ludwig and Welch's world travels centered around culture, art, and history and they catalogued their experiences in a collection of photographs that are preserved in the SUNY Buffalo Archives. They led educational tours to Europe, Africa, India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Ludwig and Welch taught for a semester in Singapore. They presented programs detailing history and art throughout Western New York.
Buddhism edit
Ludwig was introduced to Buddhism as an exchange student in Sweden. In 1997, she joined the Buffalo Zen Dharma Community Zendu sanctuary. In 2004, she became a student of the Mountains and Rivers Order at the Zen Mountain Monastery in Mt. Tremper, New York. She received the Buddhist initial ritual jukai from the late Abbott John Daido Loori in 2007 and received the precepts, or Buddhist ethics. She was given the name Choho, which means Splendid Dharma, in accordance with the Dharma transmission.
After leaving the Mountains and Rivers Order, Ludwig continued her practice with Buffalo Zen. In 2006 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama came to Buffalo for three days. As co-chair of the committee that organized the Interfaith Religious Service’s sponsorship of the visit, Ludwig helped coordinate his visit to SUNY Buffalo on September 20, 2006. The visit was covered by the New York Times article, Dalai Lama Visits State University at Buffalo.
Westminster Presbyterian Church edit
Both Ludwig and Welch were longtime members of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Buffalo. Ludwig was active with Westminster until her death. She served as a Ruling Elder; chair of the Senior Pastor Nominating Committee; chair of Mission Study Task Force; chair of Worship, Arts, and Music Committee; co-chair of the Adult Program Committee, Board of Directors for the Campus-Church Coalition; and sat on the Committee on Preparation for Ministry, Presbytery of Western New York.
Chautauqua Institute edit
Ludwig and Welch first went to Chautauqua in 1982 to attend an opera performance of Don Giovanni. Ludwig also attended a lecture by world religious scholar Huston Smith, which inspired her learning and teaching. She led seminars on world religions, gender and language issues, Buddhism and Zen, Islam, Elderhostel (now Road Scholar), and other studies. She was Resource Faculty and Facilitator for a three-week discussion series ("Chautauquans within Chautauqua" on Beauty, Peace, Justice) in July–August 1999. She and Welch donated their home in Chautauqua to the Chautauqua Foundation.
Publications edit
- Meacham, J., and Ludwig, J. (1997). “Faculty and Students at the Center: Faculty Development for General Education Courses.” The Journal of General Education, v46 n3, 169–183.
- Ludwig, J., and J.A. Meacham. (1997). “Teaching controversial courses: Student evaluations of instructors and content.” Educational Research Quarterly, v21 n1, 27–38.
- Ludwig, J. (1995). “The One-Minute Paper: Enhancing Discussion in a Multicultural Seminar.” Liberal Education, v81 n4, 12–19.
- Ludwig, J. (1984). “Vocabulary Acquisition as a Function of Word Characteristics.” Canadian Modern Language Review, v40 n2, 552–562.
- Ludwig, J. (1983). “Attitudes and Expectations: A Profile of Female and Male Students of College French, German, and Spanish.” The Modern Language Journal, v67 n3, 216–227.
- Ludwig, J. (1982). “Native-Speaker Judgments of Second-Language Learners’ Efforts at Communication: A Review.” The Modern Language Journal, v66, n3, 274–83.
- Ludwig, J. (1982). “Three-Day Versus Five-Day Elementary Language Courses: Results of a Preliminary Study.” ADFL Bulletin (PDF).
- Ludwig, J. (1979). “The Cognitive Method and Error Analysis: A New Horizon. Foreign Language Annals, v12 n3, 209–215.
- Ludwig, J. (1978). “Factors Affecting Vocabulary learning in a Second Language. Eric No. ED210937.