James Robert Riedel, the former executive director of Penn’s English Language Programs in the School of Arts and Sciences, passed away on May 25 after a long illness. He was 66.

Mr. Riedel was born in Algona, Iowa and graduated from Algona High School in 1973. He went on to graduate from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa with a degree in English. He later obtained an MBA in accounting and a MA in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from San Francisco State University. After graduating, he took a position as an auditor for an accounting firm in Oakland, California, but then left to pursue his passion for teaching and international travel. He accepted a position as an associate lecturer at the English School of Policy Studies at Kwansei Gakuin University in Kobe, Japan and remained there for six years.

After leaving Japan, Mr. Riedel joined the English Language Programs (ELP) in Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences as a language specialist. He rose to become coordinator of the ELP’s Business English programs and later director and executive director of the unit. During his tenure he traveled extensively as an ambassador for the field of TESOL and for the ELP. He established partnerships around the globe and recruited thousands of students to learn English at Penn and prepare for university study in the U.S. Mr. Riedel continued to teach throughout his time at Penn, despite his growing administrative responsibilities, and was consistently one of the most highly rated instructors in the department. He developed innovative programs to meet the interests and needs of international audiences and spearheaded a successful series of massive open online courses (MOOCs) created with a grant from the U.S. Department of State. These free online courses expanded access to more than 2.5 million English language learners around the world.

In his leisure time, Mr. Riedel loved to travel, collected art, was a gourmet cook, enjoyed classical music, and was very interested in WWII history. He spoke multiple languages, including Japanese and French, and was known for his sense of humor and his love of entertaining.

Mr. Riedel is survived by his father, Robert (Bob) Riedel; sisters, Connie (Mark) Sams and Judy (Henry) Erk; nieces, Allison (Jonathan) Edwards, Sheila Erk, Paige (Bob) Secrest; nephew, Jordan (Ashley) Erk; and several grandnieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother Dolores (Dee) Riedel. A campus memorial service is planned for late July. For details, contact the English Language Programs (elp@sas.upenn.edu).