Greetings, students, friends and alumni of Spanish and Portuguese Studies!
I’m pleased to be able to write to share our Spring 2021 newsletter with you. At this time last year, when I sent you that newsletter, we were only a few weeks into the pandemic and unsure what the future would hold. (I — quite naively — thought we could be back on campus and back to normal by Fall 2020!) Here we are heading into our 15th month of masks and distancing, of online and HyFlex learning, of virtual meetings … But with vaccinations becoming readily available, things really are looking up this time, and I hope that, when our Fall 2021 newsletter makes its way to your inbox, we truly will be returning to normal.
I have never been prouder of this department than I have been over the past year-plus. Our faculty, staff and graduate students have done an outstanding job over these difficult months, doing everything they can to keep teaching, keep sharing our passion for language and culture, and keep connecting with each other and with our students. I am in awe of what they have been able to accomplish amidst challenging physical, emotional and technological environments. You will see some of the amazing things that have continued to happen in SPS as you browse through this newsletter – I’m sure you will be as impressed as I have been.
A quick final note: This will be my last newsletter message, because, on Aug. 15, I am stepping down as chair of this department, after eleven years in that position. It has truly been an honor to serve SPS in this capacity, and I have learned and grown immensely over these years. After a brief leave period, I will return to teaching full-time in SPS, something I’m quite looking forward to, as I have missed my time in the classroom. I have no doubt that SPS will continue to do great things under our new leadership.
Gillian Lord