25 years ago: Founder of KU language lab retires

From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Oct. 7, 1987:

After more than 37 years of teaching and 14 years as director of Kansas University’s language laboratories, Ermal Garinger was retiring, but his name was going to continue to show up on the job every day. KU officials recently had unveiled a plaque renaming the language labs in his honor. Garinger had founded the labs in 1973 and had served as their only director. “It was completely unexpected,” Garinger said of his namesake, the Ermal Garinger Academic Resource Center in Wescoe Hall. “That lab has been my life for the last 20 years, but I didn’t expect them to put a plaque up.” The lab was used to help students learn foreign languages through the use of audio and videotapes. Garinger wasn’t planning to rest on his laurels during retirement. He was soon to become executive director of the Kansas Foreign Language Task Force, which was intended to help school districts begin or strengthen their language programs.