Mary Ann Lyman-Hager, 1968

Mary Ann spent 20 years as professor of European Studies and French at San Diego State University, where she also directed a federally-funded Language Acquisition Resource Center and programs of language study for ROTC and active duty military personnel. Under her direction, the language center received $35 million in external grant support for language education, software, text books and multimedia used by colleges and universities in language and culture studies, particularly for critical languages.

Mary Ann has served on boards of directors and editorial boards of national and international associations and has contributed to scholarly publications, focusing primarily on language acquisition and computer-assisted language learning. She has been honored for her work in teaching and leadership, including a lifetime achievement award from the California Language Teachers Association and an award from San Diego State’s College of Arts and Letters as its distinguished professor.

Prior to San Diego State, she taught French at Five Colleges (Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Amherst, UMASS and Hampshire) and at the Pennsylvania State University, where she was awarded the University’s system-wide award for Creativity and Innovation and the Provost’s Award for Collaborative Teaching. She holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in education from the University of Idaho and a master’s degree in French from the University of Arizona, where she was a member of French and Education Honor Societies.

A native of Anamosa, Iowa, she majored in French at Cornell and studied abroad with the Experiment in International Living. Her positive experiences at Cornell led her to seek career opportunities in international fields, and, later, to volunteer as class agent. She also chaired her class’s 50th reunion and has hosted regional alumni events in San Diego, where she lives with husband Wayne Hager. They have six children and eighteen grandchildren.