Dear students, alumni and friends of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies,
I am honored to introduce this Fall/Winter 2021 Newsletter in my capacity as the new chair of SPS. On behalf of the SPS community, let me start this brief message by expressing our deepest appreciation for Gillian Lord, who stepped down from this position in August, after 11 years of dedicated service. Other noteworthy personnel news that I would like to share with you include the return of David Pharies to the SPS faculty, after serving for 11 years as associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the welcome of John Flanagan, our new administrative coordinator for lower-division Spanish; the promotion of Crystal Marull to senior lecturer; the tenure and promotion to associate professor of Diego Pascual y Cabo and Jorge Valdés Kroff; and Emily Hind’s promotion to professor. Additionally, we welcomed 14 students into our graduate program. On a sadder note, over the summer we lost our former colleague Antonio Gil, who had retired only three years prior.
Before the start of the fall semester, we all thought that the return to normalcy was finally at hand. Unfortunately, the spread of the Delta and now the Omicron variants of COVID-19 have yet again postponed that prospect. In the face of the mounting challenges — both personal and professional — as well as of the enduring uncertainty caused by the ongoing pandemic, I am proud to say that the faculty and graduate students at SPS keep demonstrating an exemplary commitment to our teaching and research missions. Providing our students with the best instruction and disseminating leading scholarship while ensuring everyone’s safety and wellbeing continued to be our common goal during the fall semester. In recognition of our valuable contributions to the educational enterprise of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, I am happy to report that Dean David Richardson has authorized two faculty searches for our department that are currently in progress. I look forward to introducing these new colleagues in the Fall 2022 edition of our Newsletter.
Throughout the next pages, you will learn about the latest highlights of our department. I trust that these brief stories will be able to convey the enthusiasm that all faculty, students and alumni featured in this newsletter poured into their respective achievements. If you would like to support our teaching and research activities, please consider a donation to the Spanish and Portuguese Fund during the Gator Nation Giving Day, which will take place on February 17, 2022.
I hope that you enjoyed a safe, healthy, and happy holiday season, and I wish you all the best for the New Year.
Saludos cordiales / cordiais saudações,
Luis Álvarez-Castro