Christian Zacher

Zacher, Christian
Christian Keeler Zacher, (6 March 1941) was born in Clayton, MO. His family moved to Chicago's South Shore when he was an infant. He enjoyed a storied childhood between the Chicago lakefront and the Gallinas Canyon in New Mexico. Jesuit educated at Loyola High School and The College of the Holy Cross, after receiving his PhD at University of California at Riverside, he accepted a teaching position in Ohio State's Department of English in 1968 where he was employed for 44 years. Zacher presided over the New Chaucer Society (1990-1997), OSU's Medieval and Renaissance Studies Center (1984-1992), The Ohio State Columbus Quincentenary (1984-1992), The OSU Faculty Club, and served two terms as secretary of the OSU Faculty Senate (2006-2012). Zacher served on the OSU Athletic Council and was recognized in 2005 with the OSU Distinguished Service Award for his "initiative to make things happen, dedicating himself to the university and producing tangible results . . . his attention to the details of reality, his creative vision of possibility, and his quiet, effective style of leadership." As a perpetual connector between colleagues, Zacher established Ohio State's Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities, a research center, and served as its director for 13 years until he retired (1998-2011). The Humanities Institute fostered the research of countless OSU scholars and visitors, including re-establishing Ohio Chautauqua with the Ohio Humanities Council, OSU Literacy Studies, and The Big Picture Series with the Columbus Museum of Art. In 2006, Zacher was awarded the Ohio Humanities Council's Bjornson Award for Distinguished Service in the Public Humanities. His ambitious publication of the Encyclopedia of the American Midwest, co-edited with Richard Sisson and Drew Cayton, garnered the support of more than half a million dollars from state and corporate sources, as well as the National Endowment for the Humanities. Zacher subsequently accepted the request of the OSU Board of Trustees to write the record of the Holbrook Years 2002-2007, which chronicles the tenure of Karen Holbrook, OSU's 13th president. His forthcoming publication with Morris Beja, Not Even Past, records the history of the OSU Department of English from 1870-2000. Chris had a special quality of inquiry and curiosity that was contagious. His scholarship published as Curiosity and Pilgrimage: The Literature of Discovery in Fourteenth-Century England, would foster years of interest in medieval travel writing. A voracious reader, whether considering Roswell's alien's, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, the Northwoods of Minnesota, or his favorite planet (Mars), Chris traveled from the Middle ages to the Midwest with ease and inspired fascination that he readily shared. His unpublished tales of the behaviors of archetypal sisters, Martha and Sally Lou, taught life-long lessons about good and evil and entertained generations of Zachers. Chris Zacher is survived by his wife of 27 years, Kay Bea Jones; his sister, Cathie Zacher of Santa Fe, NM; his daughters, Jessica Zacher Pandya (Mihir) of Long Beach, CA, Lydia Zacher Dixon (Pete) of Camarillo, CA; his son, Samuel Zacher of New Haven, CT; and nieces and nephews in Chicago and California. Chris was especially proud of his five grandchildren, Nick Garcia-Zacher, Miki Pandya, Leela Mae Pandya, Juno Azuz-Zacher, and Castor Dixon, who all resemble more Martha than Sally Lou. A devoted father and true Catholic humanist, Chris long believed and demonstrated that "we raise our children to be better than us." A Funeral Mass for Chris will take place on Saturday, 13 July at 10 am at the St. Thomas More Newman Center, 64 West Lane Ave, Columbus, OH with a reception to follow at The Ohio State University Faculty Club. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in the name of Chris Zacher to the OSU Department of English "Friend of the English Department" Fund: 307563.