Title: Retired Professor
Company: Western Michigan University
Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States
Constantine J. Gianakaris, PhD, Professor at Western Michigan University, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for dedication, achievements, and leadership in English, arts and theater education and criticism.
Dr. Gianakaris has flourished in a more than 60-year career as a professor and theater critic. After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in 1956 and a Master of Arts in English language and literature from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, he continued his education with a Doctor of Philosophy in English renaissance drama from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1961.
From 1961 to 1966, Dr. Gianakaris provided superior service as an assistant and then associate professor with Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois before joining the faculty of Western Michigan University (WMU) in Kalamazoo, where he excelled as a professor in English and theatre from 1966 to his retirement in 2005. He additionally served as associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences with WMU from 1979 to 1982. Dr. Gianakaris has enjoyed an over 30-year career as a music and theater reviewer with the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985 to the present.
Dr. Gianakaris is a proud member of the Shakespeare Association of America, the Renaissance Society of America, the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of America, the American Drama Society, the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and the American Society for Theatre Research. He has been rewarded with a fellowship from the Folger Shakespeare Library, a Teaching Excellence Award, an Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award and inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who Top Professional and Marquis Who’s Who Industry Leaders.
What inspired Dr. Gianakaris to enter his profession was his love for art and theater, a deep affection that he developed from a young age, thanks to the influence of his parents, immigrants to the United States from Greece who always had great enthusiasm for the arts. As a career highlight, he notes a special part of his life when he was able to spend a number of years in deep research, conducting personal interviews of renowned British playwright, Peter Shaffer, who had authored award-winning plays including Amadeus, Equus and The Royal Hunt of the Sun.
For more information, please visit:
Contact Dr. Gianakaris:
