SUMMIT, NJ, June 10, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Marinna Mallis Kolaitis with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Ms. Kolaitis celebrates many years' experience in her professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes she has accrued in her field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Now a retired language educator, Ms. Kolaitis began her career in 1963 teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) at the prestigious American Language Institute, New York University (NYU), where she was an Assistant Professor and co-author of the NYU American English textbook series. In 1974 after 10 years on the New York City campus, she was hired at Union County College (UCC) in Cranford, New Jersey to help establish a new ESL Institute program. Teaching at UCC for 40 years, she became a pioneer in her field as the UCC Institute for Intensive English (IIE), expanded exponentially, becoming the largest intensive ESL program in New Jersey and, ultimately, renowned throughout the country.
Throughout her illustrious career in academia, Ms. Kolaitis had the opportunity to promote the IIE by presenting how to integrate multimedia in an ESL curriculum at numerous conferences. She frequently spoke and hosted workshops for various organizations, some of which were the Association of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, the Computer Assisted Language Learning and Instruction Consortium, the International Society for Technology in Education and the National Education Association. Additionally, Ms. Kolaitis was a consultant on behalf of the New Jersey State Learning Resource Center and Essex Community College's computer curriculum and teacher training, among other educational organizations, and was a member of the Director of New Jersey Education Consultants and the New Jersey Institute for Collegiate Teaching and Learning.
As part of her scholarly commitments, Ms. Kolaitis authored or co-authored several books, including her most recent, a memoir, titled "Jennie, A Pillar of Strength, Courage and Hope" in 2020. Some of her other books and journal articles include "Remembering Newark's Greeks: An American Odyssey" in 2006, "Training Ourselves to Train Students in CALL" in 2006 and "An Integrated Call Curriculum: A Multimedia Approach" in 1999. Giving back to her community and her field, Ms. Kolaitis has been a longtime contributor to the University of Michigan, City College of New York, Argo Community High School in Summit, IL and a scholarship contributor to Union County College.
Growing up in a family of educators and academic administrators, Ms. Kolaitis' mother, Jennie, was a bilingual assistant at a local elementary school. Remaining in her position for over 20 years, her mother was an immigrant from Northern Greece who spoke five different languages. Ms. Kolaitis prepared for her career by earning a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Linguistics and English from the University of Michigan in 1962 and 1963, respectively. After acquiring her bachelor's degree, she completed her student teaching assignment in ESL at the English Language Institute at the University of Michigan between 1962 and 1963. Ms. Kolaitis also completed an English and drama course in 1961 and participated in a graduate seminar in contemporary drama in 1962 at the University of Chicago, completed postgraduate coursework in linguistics and transformational grammar at NYU between 1967 and 1971, and a professional development course in ESL techniques at the Teachers College at Columbia University in 1996.
Supporting her professional endeavors, Ms. Kolaitis has been a member of the American Association of University Professors, the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages and the Eastern Federation Greek Orthodox Musicians. She is also a founding member of the Metropolitan Greek Chorale.
From 1987 to 2008, Ms. Kolaitis had secured several grants as Project Director from the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education. They included Project ESL-Author, a series of computer-authored lessons for the six-level ESL curriculum, Project VOCED, Vocational Education Act in Computer Assisted Language Learning, Project CLAIM- ESL, Computers in Language and in Math, and a UCC Grant to train instructors in Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) Strategies. A celebrated Marquis listee, she has been cited in the 63rd through 70th editions of Who's Who in America, the eighth edition of Who's Who in American Education, and the 27th and 28th editions of Who's Who of American Women.
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