Fond Farewells to Retiring Humanities Faculty

Yoko Azuma, instructor (lecturer) of world languages and cultures, will retire in June 2025 after 21 years at the University of Utah. With extensive teaching experience at the K-12 and university level in both Japan and the United States, Azuma is well-liked by her students for making Japanese language learning not only possible, but enjoyable. Her colleagues speak highly of her engaging classroom presence, resourcefulness, creativity, and the kindness and steadiness that she brings to the learning environment with her students.

Reflecting on her teaching career, Azuma says, "The most rewarding part of teaching beginners is seeing their fear turn into joy when they realize, 'I can say this in Japanese!' Watching their confidence grow and their interest deepen has always been the greatest joy of my teaching."

Ashton Lazarus, assistant professor of world languages and cultures, says, “For decades Yoko Azuma has been a core member of the Japanese program. She taught all levels of the language and for years ran the summer learning-abroad program in Osaka. Her many students speak enthusiastically about her courses--she will no doubt be missed!”

Margaret Pabst Battin, Distinguished Professor of philosophy and adjunct professor of internal medicine, will retire in June 2025 after 50 years at the University of Utah. Battin, a bioethicist, is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of some twenty books and numerous papers in Bioethics and various areas of applied philosophy. Her areas of expertise include medical aid in dying, suicide, end-of-life decision making, and contraception. She has been named "One of the Mothers of Bioethics," and in 2014 she gave a TEDMED talk titled “Choosing the least worst death” about her husband Brooke’s decision to die after a serious bicycle accident led to many years of struggling with quadriplegia. 

Battin’s career has been marked by numerous honors, including the University of Utah’s Distinguished Honors Professorship, University Professorship, and the Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence. She has also been awarded the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters Gardner Prize.

Cynthia Stark, chair of the Department of Philosophy, says, “Margaret Pabst Battin is a world-renowned scholar of bioethics—a truly pathbreaking researcher who helped establish the field; her contributions not only to the discipline, but also our department and intellectual community, will be missed.”

Stephen Downes, professor of philosophy and adjunct professor in the School of Biological Sciences, will retire in June 2025 after 34 years at the University of Utah. His area of expertise is the philosophy of science, in particular biology, social science, and modeling across the sciences. Downes, who hails from Liverpool, UK, has been credited by colleagues as helping to create a particularly supportive and positive departmental culture for colleagues as well as students. He has enjoyed helping to build a highly regarded Philosophy Department at the University of Utah.

In his time at the university, he has collaborated across departments, as well as with colleagues at other institutions, to solve theoretical questions. He was awarded the Humanities Distinguished Scholar award in 2020.

Cynthia Stark, chair of the Department of Philosophy, says “Stephen M. Downes is an internationally recognized philosopher of biology and award-winning teacher who has made an indelible mark on his discipline; he will be remembered by his students and colleagues alike for his commitment to our department and his passion for philosophy.”

Disa Gambera, associate professor (lecturer) of English, will retire in June 2025 after 25 years at the University of Utah. Gambera joined the faculty in the Department of English and the Honors College in 2000, after teaching at the University of Southern Mississippi and Carleton College. Her research interests are in Chaucer studies and late 14th century English literature with a sub-specialty in medieval Italian literature where she has written on the works of Dante and Boccaccio and their influence on Chaucer.

Gambera’s teaching experience has extended well beyond the Middle Ages. For many years she taught sections of Honors Intellectual Traditions, where she covered everything from ancient epic and philosophy to the seminal texts of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. In the Department of English she has taught courses on Chaucer, Shakespeare, King Arthur, children’s literature and the history of the sonnet sequence. In her final semester here at the U, she is happy to be ending her career as an English professor with a course on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and another on Shakespeare. According to Gambera, her most rewarding experiences “have come both from her engagement with Utah students in the classroom as well as in the collegial and intellectually rich environment fostered by the English Department at the U.”

Says Anne Jamison, professor of English and longtime colleague, says, “Disa Gambera is universally beloved and will be sorely missed for her intelligence, warmth, excellent teaching and advising, intellectual generosity, and above all, her friendship. It is difficult to imagine the department without her. We are very happy for her new chapter but many of us have long dreaded the day she would leave us!”

Jane Hacking, professor emerita of world languages and cultures, retired in December 2024 after 26 years at the University of Utah. Her research primarily centered on second language acquisition, L2 phonology, and the development of L2 reading, listening, and speaking proficiency. Hacking was instrumental in the success of the Russian language program, serving as section head for many years and teaching scores of students. During her time at the U she served as co-chair of the Department of World Languages & Cultures. She also co-founded the Second Language Teaching and Research Center (L2TReC) in 2012 and served as its co-director for several years. In this role she secured several large federal grants to support language instruction and second language acquisition research. She also made essential contributions to the thriving Dual Language Immersion and Bridge programs in Utah’s schools and helped to create the MuSSeL (Multilingual Spoken Second Language) learner corpus. In 2017, Hacking won the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages’ “Outstanding Contribution to the Profession” award.

Hacking says, “It was a privilege to be part of the U community for much of my academic career. I am proud of the contributions L2TReC has made to language education in Utah and its role in modeling best practices for the wider profession.”

She is highly regarded by students and colleagues alike. “Working alongside Jane over the past seven years has been a truly inspiring and transformative experience. Her unwavering dedication to the Russian program at the U, the creativity of her groundbreaking Russia in Asia line of work, and overall commitment to advancing language education in the state and beyond have left a profound and enduring influence on the lives of countless students and colleagues,” says Natalya Kuznetsova, assistant professor (lecturer) in world languages and cultures; “Her ongoing contribution to the DLI and Bridge program in Utah continues to resonate, shaping new generations of educators and learners. Jane’s leading made us feel trusted and empowered. She gave us the freedom to grow in our own ways and was always within reach through a call or a conversation, ready with her thoughtful and wise guidance and support whenever we needed it.”

Craig Wirth, adjunct associate professor of communication and Emmy Award-winning documentarian, will retire in June 2025 after 30 years of teaching video production and TV journalism. Wirth, who also graduated from the University of Utah in 1973, had a career in broadcast media spanning more than five decades, reporting for ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Financial News Network, CNBC and Salt Lake's ABC4 among others. In 2012, Wirth was inducted into the Utah Broadcasting Association Hall of Fame, and in 2013, he won an ASUU Student Choice Award, intended to honor outstanding and inspiring professors and instructors.

Wirth says, "It has been such an honor to teach among the scholars in our college, and of course, it is the greatest gift to have been graced by the joy of being in the classroom with incredible students. I owe each of them a big thanks for having made me proud to teach and to be able to watch them now make incredible contributions in education, the media, and in the humanities.

Avery Holton, chair of the Department of Communication, says, “Craig has been an indelible part of this University for nearly fifty years, serving our students through a wealth of industry changes. At each turn, he’s put them first and, in doing so, has lifted our entire community.”

Congratulations and Thank You!
The College of Humanities extends a heartfelt thanks to Professors Azuma, Battin, Downes, Gambera, Hacking, and Wirth for their many years of dedication and excellence in teaching, research, and community impact, and the best of wishes for a well-deserved, enjoyable retirement.