Mel B. Yoken collection (Ms.2011.038)

Biographical Note

Mel B. Yoken was born in 1939 in Fall River, Massachusetts the son of Albert Benjamin Yoken, born in Fall River, and Sylvia White, born in Providence, Rhode Island. He was educated in Fall River and graduated from the B.M.C Durfee High School in 1956. He received his Bachelor's degree from The University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1960, a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Brown University in 1961, and a Ph.D. degree in French language and literature from The Five College Ph.D. Program (Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mt. Holyoke College, Smith College and The University of Massachusetts Amherst) in 1972. His dissertation is entitled Claude Tillier's Novelistic World.

Dr. Yoken taught French at Newton North High School in Newton, Massachusetts from 1961-1964, then continued teaching French at The University of Massachusetts Amherst while pursuing a Ph.D. at the aforementioned Five College Program which had just come into existence. In 1966, he was hired by the then SMTI (Southeastern Massachusetts Technological Institute, and now University of Massachusetts Dartmouth) where he remained for the rest of his teaching career, retiring in 2006. As of 2015, Dr. Yoken still retains an office at UMass Dartmouth where he continues to see and advise students, and where he is very active - and holds leadership roles - in many organizations, clubs and associations. He is, in addition, program chair of numerous groups and brings notable and influential individuals to Southeastern Massachusetts to lecture and participate in panels, colloquia, seminars and brunches.

Dr. Yoken taught French language, literature, and culture both inside and outside the classroom. His goal was to create well-rounded students, who not only spoke excellent French, but also understood French culture which in turn improved their understanding and comprehension of the language. His method was innovative and energetic, similar to the John Rassias method of teaching languages, and over the years Yoken developed a life-long friendship with Professor Rassias from Dartmouth College. He also owes a great deal to Middlebury College's renowned Ecole française which he first attended in the summer of 1959, and has returned to the language school each summer since.

While at UMass Dartmouth, Dr. Yoken was the faculty advisor to The French Club, Table Française, and the Canadian Studies Program. He was also a mentor and advisor to countless French majors and students who have become, over the years, distinguished French professors, university presidents, translators and government officials.

The highlight Dr. Yoken's summers throughout the 1980s was his Summer Language Institute where the students spent three weeks immersed in French language and culture at UMASS Dartmouth followed by three weeks immersion at The University of Montreal. The highly successful and very popular program, modeled after the Middlebury College Language School, was founded and directed by Yoken, and his wife, Cindy, also a French teacher.

Throughout his long career, Dr. Yoken has lectured nationally and internationally on some of his specialty subjects: 19th century French poetry, 20th Century French and Quebec novels and theatre, and translation. He has published eight books: Claude Tillier (1976), Speech is Plurality (1978), Entretiens Québécois I (1986), The letters of Robert Molloy, 1971-1977 (1989), Entretiens Québécois II (1990), Stowell Goding and France (1993), Entretiens Québécois III (1999), and Breakthrough: Essays and Vignettes in Honor of John A. Rassias (2007). He has also published multitudes of articles in American, French and Québécois publications and has been interviewed by radio and television journalists and personalities.

His honors include the prestigious "Medaille de Vermeil du Rayonnement de la Langue Française" from the French Academy; "Officer dans l'Ordre des Palmes academiques" from the French government; Robert Ludwig National Distinguished Leadership Award in Foreign Languages from the New York State Foreign Language Association; Mayoral citation for outstanding cultural achievements in Fall River; and Distinguished Alumnus Awards from B.M.C. Durfee High School in Fall River and The University of Massachusetts Amherst. In addition, he has won several research grants and fellowships, and Excellence in Teaching Awards at UMass Dartmouth. He has been elected Honorary Life Member in the Academy of American Poets, Fall River and New Bedford Public Libraries, Claire T. Carney Library Associates, American Association Teachers of French (AATF) and Modern Language Association (MLA).

Dr. Yoken has been on the radio, as moderator, interviewer and host starting in the 1950s when he hosted “Teen Party” on WALE (Fall River, Massachusetts) during his three years in high school. Shortly thereafter, he joined Jean Caya Bancroft on her Saturday morning weekly show on WALE, and later on WBSM (New Bedford, Massachusetts). As co-host, he appeared some 450 times through 2005, when the Bancroft show ended due to her demise. Yoken still enjoys the radio, and, is often heard expatiating on his many cultural and literary events.

Dr. Yoken has also been vital to the success of the Boivin Center for French Language and Culture at UMASS Dartmouth. The Boivin Center was founded in 1985 by Omer E. and Laurette M. Boivin. Dr. Yoken served as a Board Member from 1985-1999 and then as Director from 1999 continuing to the time of this writing in 2015. The Boivin Center promotes the teaching and appreciation of French language and culture by providing scholarships to students, bringing influential French and Francophone speakers to the Center for cultural programs, and documenting the positive impact of both in New England.

The other major work of his life - the compilation the Mel Yoken Collection - began during his studies for his Master’s Degree at Brown University. As part of his research – and his inveterate and congenital curiosity - he wrote to French authors to ask specific questions about their work. The authors responded; long-standing friendships developed, and Dr. Yoken continued to write to more French and Francophone authors. As he was – and still is – greatly interested in all literatures, his interest widened to authors and individuals in numerous countries and professions. The vast collection now includes correspondence from and information about politicians, actors, lawyers, judges, business leaders, military officers, radio and television personalties, religious leaders, scientists, doctors, musicians, artists and educators. It provides invaluable and unique insights into the lives, personalities and creativity of many of the most famous and talented individuals of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.

He married Cindy (Cynthia née Stein) on June 20, 1976, and they live in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The couple has three sons and two daughters-in-law: Andrew, David and Dara, Jonathan and Jody; and six grandsons: Ryder, Jonah, Tommy, Mason, Eli and Weston.