Peter A. Machonis

Peter A Machonis was born in Ridley Park, PA, on 23 August 1952, and passed away peacefully at home in Miami, FL on 8 March 2023. Peter’s life was a rich one, and lived to the fullest as he was talented in so many ways. He loved music, languages, ice-dancing, cooking, orchids, outdoor adventure, and travel, particularly to French-speaking countries and territories. After finishing high school at St. James Catholic High School for Boys in Chester, PA, Peter attended Notre Dame University where he played in the marching band for home games of “the Fighting Irish”. When he participated in a study abroad program to Angers, France, in 1971, he changed majors from Mathematics to French as he had found his passion. During that same time, he developed close friendships with French students his age, friendships that lasted for more than 50 years. Once you were Peter’s friend, you were a forever friend. The photo shows Peter in his beloved Paris, atop the Arc du Triomphe, enjoying the view with Annick, a French friend he made back in 1971.

Peter Machonis earned his B.A. in French from University of Notre Dame in 1974, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in French from Pennsylvania State University in 1976 and 1982, respectively. During this time, he also had temporary work and teaching gigs at Bucknell University in PA, New Orleans, LA, and Paris, France, before joining the Department of Modern Languages at Florida International University (FIU), Miami, FL, in 1983. Since 2005, he was also the Director of French and Francophone Studies. Professor Machonis published three academic books, including two on the history and evolution of the French language, written in highly readable French that made them favorites in French programs across the U.S. He published more than fifty journal articles and book chapters on historical linguistics as well as French language variations in Belgium, Switzerland, and Québec, experiential learning in higher education, and Lexicon-Grammar, and delivered over ninety academic lectures at international conferences.

Professor Machonis loved teaching, and he loved his students. His pedagogical engagement, mentorship, and brilliance were most evidenced in his experiential learning work and city-as-text approach where he took advantage of the unique situation of FIU in multilingual South Florida. He invited his students to explore Francophone- and Creole-speaking areas of Miami and Fort Lauderdale and reflect on the overall linguistic and cultural experiences. This invaluable hands-on and community-based approach that he guided his students through also characterized Dr. Machonis’ teaching on the Florida Everglades, a two-semester interdisciplinary course that he offered through the Honors College. His students cherished those critical learning experiences. Characterizations such as brilliant, dynamic, encouraging, and passionate regularly appear in their evaluations of Professor Machonis’ teaching. In his forty years of teaching at FIU, Professor Machonis touched the lives of thousands of students in many diverse classes, ranging from French

language and culture, through French and English linguistics, to his seminar on the Everglades; he taught in three different areas: French for the Department of Modern Languages, the Linguistics Program, and the Honors College.

In addition to his dedication to FIU and his students, Professor Machonis was engaged outside of the University. He was a very active member of the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) and a regular judge at the annual AATF Florida state conventions. Internationally, he was heavily involved with natural language processing, and helped to develop and refine the Nooj linguistic software tool together with colleagues across Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Within the US, Professor Machonis was a member of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) from 2004 to 2022, and directed or planned faculty and student seminars focused on experiential learning in Miami & the Everglades, Las Vegas & Death Valley, the Peruvian Amazon, Albuquerque, and numerous other locations. He also edited and contributed articles to several NCHC publications. As a result of this engagement, many FIU Honors College students had the opportunity to attend and present their work at annual NCHC conferences.

Professor Machonis was also a measured and impactful voice in the Department of Modern Languages whose presence will be greatly missed. Dr. Pascale Bécel, Chair of Modern Languages, remembers him as “an ideal and thoughtful colleague with a great sense of humor. He was passionate about his research and his teaching, an inspiring professor to his students.”

Peter's kindness, charm and humor showed early in life when he would make his siblings laugh and stop their tears and help them with their homework. To his many friends both within and outside of academia, Peter will always be remembered for his generosity, his humor, his thoughtfulness, his culinary skills, his good taste in wine, and his inclusiveness. He was always cheerful and upbeat, and very few people knew about his 11-year battle with cancer. Peter always put the focus on others, not on himself.

Peter Machonis is survived by Devon Graham, his partner of nearly 30 years, his sister Anne (& Ken) Machonis, and brothers Philip (& Deborah) Machonis, and Danny (& Laura) Machonis. He is also survived by his niece Caroline, and nephews Philip, Steven, Blake and Brent. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday 31 March at 2 PM at St. Agatha’s Catholic Church at 1111 SW 107th Ave, Miami (directly across 107th Ave from the FIU campus). Interment will be in Holy Cross Cemetery in Philadelphia.