Rehabilitation Counselor Education Professor Emeritus Dennis Maki passed away on Jan. 2, 2024, at the age of 75, after a long and esteemed career at the College of Education.
Maki joined the college on Aug. 23, 1982, as an assistant professor. He was promoted to associate professor on Aug. 22, 1984, and became a full professor in August 1995. Additionally, he served as a departmental chair for 15 years before retiring in 2014.
Maki was instrumental in his program achieving a No. 2 ranking by U.S. News & World Report. In recognition of his contributions, he received the Distinguished Career in Rehabilitation Education Award from the National Council on Rehabilitation Education in 2013.
“Professor Dennis Maki made sustained and singular contributions to rehabilitation counseling over the course of a long and productive career. One aspect of his legacy was achieved through scholarly contributions to counseling supervision and its effect on our field,” says Counselor Education Professor Emerita Vilia Tarvydas, Maki’s longtime friend and colleague. “He inspired students and colleagues to refine their supervisory practices. His enthusiasm for the techniques and knowledge base that he helped create in rehabilitation counseling was infectious. He instilled it in countless students and faculty members across institutions.”
Maki established the Office of Graduate Teaching Excellence and the Certificate in College Teaching, both university-wide initiatives aimed at preparing future faculty for success. He also created the Iowa Education Fellows Program, a comprehensive professional development opportunity for College of Education doctoral students.
Alumna LaKeisha Harris (PhD '07), dean of the School of Graduate Studies at University of Maryland Eastern Shore, shared some insight into the lasting impact Maki left on his students.
“I am deeply affected by the loss of Dr. Dennis Maki. As a first-generation college student and the first person in my family to achieve a doctorate, it was very scary to move from Baltimore to Iowa in 2002, away from people who looked like me,” Harris says. “Dr. Maki made sure I felt comfortable from the very beginning, and it was refreshing. He cared so much for us as students and showed it in many ways.”
Harris’ memory of Maki expanded outside the classroom and shows the impact of the inclusivity he brought to the scholars he mentored.
“I particularly enjoyed his barbecue celebrations that he held on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday each year,” Harris adds. “It was more than just food. It was a time for us as students and faculty to connect and a way for us to honor our culture. Dr. Maki was very invested in the scholarship of each of his students, and I learned a lot from him. He had a big laugh and a big personality, and he is one of the many reasons that I stayed at Iowa.”
Maki also founded the Iowa Center for Assistive Technology Education and Research, known as I-CATER. For nearly two decades, he directed the UI Helping Professionals Workshop, which provided continuing education and networking opportunities for community, agencies, and education practitioners across the state.
“Dennis has touched hundreds of lives over the years, and he will be deeply missed by his family, colleagues, former students, and friends,” says Noel Estrada-Hernandez, current Departmental Executive Officer of the Department of Counselor Education.
