Emeriti professors John Kane, Manuel Puerta and Philip Middleton enjoyed a visit from
Puerta Saturday, Feb. 25 in Big Rapids. Puerta, who championed the growth of foreign
language instruction at Ferris in his 20 years on the faculty resides in South, Spain
was on the Ferris campus to reflect on his experiences and view changes since his
retirement in 2001.
Manuel Puerta, a Ferris State University emeriti professor of Spanish and other foreign languages, looked over familiar campus sites and visited with former faculty friends Saturday, Feb. 25, in Big Rapids.
Puerta, born in Dúrcal, Granada, Spain, was a Ferris faculty member from 1981 to 2001 and received the university’s International Educator Award in 2000. His daughter, Carolina Puerta-Estevez, resides in Comstock Park and Spain and joined Puerta for a visit. Carolina, a 2001 alumna of Ferris’ Bachelor of Science in Public Relations program and a member of the university’s Grand Rapids Council, said her father was active in growing and promoting the study of foreign languages and the excellence of the university’s programs, in general, to attract international students to Ferris.
“As a world traveler, one of my father’s proudest accomplishments was establishing international connections with 17 Ferris Study Abroad visits over the years, with his students visiting Mexico, Spain and Costa Rica to integrate themselves with language and learn about their cultures and history,” Puerta-Estevez mentioned. “Additionally, he proudly established and taught Spanish for Ferris’ Criminal Justice students.”
Also, Puerta and his wife Eloisa were among the founders of Ferris’ International Festival of Cultures, which continues to this day and has similarly been adopted by other universities in the region.
Puerta-Estevez said when Puerta retired in 2001, he had completed 35 years of service as a professor in France, Canada, Japan and the U.S. He had earned his doctorate from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, in 1975, communicated fluently in nine languages.
“My father did a great deal to augment Ferris’ instruction in Spanish, German and French, as well as a collaboration that allowed students to learn Japanese by satellite,” Puerta-Estevez said. “Tenure-track faculty were brought in to expand on those areas of learning. He took a one-year sabbatical and visited countries across Central and South America, promoting language learning instruction and other degree programs at the university. Those international students who came to Ferris were first directed to English as a Second Language coursework, then went on to pursue their degrees.”
Now 87 years old, Puerta found the lay of the Ferris campus familiar, though the facilities have changed since his retirement.
“I was very surprised and very glad to walk through the campus,” Puerta said. “I was so proud to be here and to consider the future of the university.”
His visit also brought back memories and an element of regret.
“I was totally taken by my feelings, mostly satisfaction about every part of my time at Ferris,” Puerta said. “I have often thought that perhaps I should not have retired at 65 but continued with my life as a professor and part of the university community.”
The professor returned Tuesday, Feb. 28, to his home in Almuñécar, Granada, Spain, where he has tropical fruits and a coffee farm on his property.