The College of Arts & Letters is saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Dr. Kimi Nakatsukasa, who earned her Ph.D. from the Second Language Studies Program in 2013.

In her dissertation she investigated the effectiveness of teachers’ gestures when used during oral corrections in ESL classrooms. Her other research interests included interactions in language classrooms, teachers’ and students’ gestures, learners’ and teachers’ individual differences, program evaluation, and technology and language learning. Dr. Nakatsukasa was an Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University.

Aside from language learning, she enjoyed baking European pastries and experimenting with the cuisines from all around the world, yoga, and photography. She is survived by her husband and young son.