It is with great sadness that the University of Michigan Department of Middle East Studies, the Arab-American community, the American Association of Teachers of Arabic (AATA), and the world have lost a decent human being and a luminary in Arabic applied linguistics and Arabic language pedagogy. Professor Rammuny passed away on September 18, 2025, in Ann Arbor, MI. He was born in Rammun, a Palestinian town in Ramallah, on November 9, 1933. Professor Rammuny received his B.A. degree from the University of Baghdad in 1959, and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan in 1963 and 1966, respectively. He joined the University of Michigan faculty as a lecturer in 1966. He was promoted to visiting assistant professor in 1967, to assistant professor in 1968, to associate professor in 1971, and to professor in 1977. He continued to serve and teach at the University of Michigan until his retirement in 2014.
In collaboration with the late Professor Ernest McCarus, Professor Rammuny played a vital role in the development and expansion of the Arabic program in the Department of Near Eastern Studies (a.k.a. Middle East Studies) from its modest beginning to one of the best programs in the nation, which now offers Ph.D. programs in Arabic Linguistics and Medieval and Modern Arabic Literature in addition to an MA in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language and an MA in Arabic for Professional purposes. Professor Rammuny is among the few pioneers who changed the methodology of teaching Arabic from the traditional grammar-translation approach to the audiolingual approach and later to the communicative approach. His contributions to Arabic language teaching and testing helped shape how the language is taught and tested, and inspired generations of students, teachers, and pedagogues.
Professor Rammuny's research focused on the methodology and practice of teaching Arabic at the university level. He authored and co-authored numerous articles and books, including the widely recognized series "Elementary Modern Standard Arabic" (1968) and "Modern Standard Arabic: Intermediate Level" (1974), which have set the standard for Arabic language instruction in the United States and beyond. Professor Rammuny's major instructional works also include Advanced Arabic Composition Based on Literary Texts and Audio-visual Materials (1980), Arabic Sounds and Letters: A Beginning Programmed Course (1998), Business Arabic: Language, Culture and Communication (2000), and Modern Standard Arabic: Advanced to Superior Level (2023). A gifted instructor, Professor Rammuny taught a wide range of courses, including Introduction to Arab Culture, Arabic for Communication, Advanced Arabic Readings in Special Subjects, Advanced Business Arabic, and Contrastive Analysis and the Teaching of Arabic. He was the recipient of many honors, including the AMOCO Good Teaching Award (1984), two U-M LSA Excellence in Education Awards (1991 and 1993), the University of Kuwait's Faculty of Arts Award (1999), and the American Association of Teachers of Arabic Lifetime Achievement Award (2011).
Professor Rammuny had a long and illustrious career. He was highly respected and beloved by his former students, colleagues, and all who knew him. He earned this affection through his unwavering commitment to teaching the Arabic language, his deep care for his students' welfare, and his concern for everyone around him. Known for his wise judgment and unparalleled expertise in Arabic language pedagogy, universities, departments, programs, and stakeholders in the United States and beyond sought him for counsel.
In the words of his students, friends, and colleagues, Professor Rammuny embodied decency, rationality, honesty, generosity, nobility, and peace. He will be missed by everyone who had the luck to know him and will be remembered by his family and countless students and colleagues around the world whose lives he touched in many ways. His legacy will endure and live through his work and the many lives he touched.
His legacy will also endure through his philanthropy and the endowed scholarship he established for incoming students to the MA degree program in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL) at the University of Michigan. To honor his legacy, consider contributing to the Raji Rammuny Fund ‑ 731112. To inquire how to contribute to the endowment directly through the LSA College, contact the Director of the TAFL Program by emailing MAdirector@umich.edu.
Professor Rammuny is survived by his son, Rumsey; his daughter, Huda; his grandchildren, Bilal, Jasmine, and Cristina; and his brothers, Saleh, Raja, and Ali.
May he rest in peace and be admitted to Paradise!
