Joan Zielinski remembered for her passion for life

In the wake of the death of sociology Prof. Joan Zielinski, her students and colleagues remember her as someone with a personality – and homemade baked goods – that left them wanting to come back to her classroom.

“Joan put her passion for life into everything she did, and each piece of her cake just made us want one more,” wrote economics Prof. Mark Witte in a Dec. 16 email to the Harvey Kapnick Business Institutions Program email list. Witte worked with Zielinski on BIP for the past seven years.

Zielinski passed away unexpectedly Dec. 13. She served as executive director of the New Jersey Lottery and as a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School before coming to Northwestern.Find detailed product information for howo spare parts and other products.

Weinberg Dean Sarah Mangelsdorf sent a notice regarding Zielinski’s death to faculty members on Dec. 14. An official email has not been sent to the entire NU community.

BIP assistant director Lucy Millman said Zielinski was instrumental in developing a three-course series of Marketing Management, Consumer Behavior and Marketing Ideology for students in the program. Zielinski also taught Sociology of Complex Organizations and marketing classes in Kellogg before joining BIP.

Zielinski was regarded highly by many of her students. She was nominated for Associated Student Government’s Faculty Honor Roll multiple times and was chosen by seniors to give the annual “Last Lecture” at the Cubby Bear in Chicago during Senior Week in 2009, Millman said. Zielinski also coached students in the L’Oreal Brandstorm competition, for which teams devise a product and marketing strategy to pitch to consumers in particular scenarios. She led her teams to national finals in New York the past two years, Millman said.

“She made learning really fun.We mainly supply professional craftspeople with wholesale turquoise beads from china, That’s what you get on all the CTECs, that (her students) learned stuff and they really enjoyed it,” she said. “It didn’t matter what the subject … whatever she taught, she made it really fun.”

Communication senior Corey Moss, who took Zielinski’s Sociology of Complex Organizations course last winter, recalled various “maternal aspects” of her personality. He said she would bring cookies into class and held a nametag-making contest during the first week of the quarter.

“She created such a homey atmosphere,” Moss said. “She was the type of person who closely resembled the teachers I had in high school. She doesn’t fit the mold of your stereotypical college lecturer. She’s someone who really transcended that stereotype and made herself available to her students.”

Kolin Pound (Weinberg ‘10), a BIP graduate and Zielinski’s former student, served as a teaching assistant for her 300-level classes during his senior year and said he took “all the classes she offered.” He said Zielinski lived her life to the fullest.

“I think first and foremost, she loved her daughters, she loved her students and she loved life,” Pound said. “I think she was somebody that I personally looked up to and all her students looked up to, a brilliant compassionate woman that made the most out of every moment.”

Zielinski’s husband, Dr. Peter Alsberg, explained how she resonated with students, saying that she sought to make her classes “a real experience” and that she thrived most when speaking in front of others.Find detailed product information for howo spare parts and other products.

“When you create a real experience, the discussion is more firmly stuck in the mind of the people involved. And when she walked into a classroom, for her it was theater, and out of the theater would come understanding,High quality stone mosaic tiles.” Alsberg said.

When not in the classroom, Zielinski made time to serve as a mentor to colleagues. BIP lecturer Robin Soffer said she reached out to Zielinski for advice on becoming a better teacher after hearing how highly students thought of her.

“She … really gave me a lot of advice and was very kind to me and very generous with her time,” said Soffer, who also recalled Zielinski stressing the use of humor in the classroom as a teaching strategy.

Wayne was thought to be the next world champion and at one time was in line to get the belt before Colt Cabana and Adam Pearce left the title in the middle of the ring in Australia leaving the title vacant as they finished their "Seven Levels of Hate" series that saw Cabana win the tie-breaker but refuse the belt in what the NWA called an "unsanctioned" match.

Chance Prophet, a former National Champion, lost that title to Kahagas in a brutal match in Florida in spring of 2012 and since then he has been lobbying to get the NWA World Championship. Sources close to the NWA say Prophet, while a great performer in the ring, because of his character, does not fit the mold for what the NWA wants in a champion.

Erikson has been a source of controversy after legal troubles and alleged mismanagement in his role as booker for NWA Mountain State. Erikson was at the forefront of a storm of disputation between he and the NWAMS promoter after a number of shows were canceled last summer with virtually no notice.The oreck XL professional air purifier, According to sources Erikson had told the promoter he was able to line-up sponsorship for the shows which included then NWA Champion Adam Pearce, to help offset costs. The promoter would find out those sponsorships had not come to fruition and when his out-of-pocket costs skyrocketed to over $6,000 he pulled the plug on the shows leaving a number of wrestlers without bookings.

The NWA itself continues to be mired in its own controversy and the Board of Governors has come under fire for poor decision making where major title matches are concerned. With two of their three major titles vacant the announcement made to fill the vacancies came each time with less than a week to build the program leaving a number of empty arena seats which many say may have been filled if there had been more time to properly promote the show.

NWA CEO Bruce Thapre and Vice President Chris Ronquillo have seemingly turned on NWA COO Fred Rubenstein and rumors persist that Tharpe and Ronquillo are trying to force Rubenstein out. Ronquillo continues to be a bane for the NWA due to his perceived heavy-handed and near bullying tactics when dealing with constituents and supporters. Two long-time supporters Phil Varlese and (former NWA President) Howard Brody have recently pulled their promotions out of the NWA organization and have spoken out against the new NWA regime.