‘Tis the season for awards in Academia, and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese saw no shortage in recipients. The list grows by the day, and is hardly representative of the long hours and hard work put in by all of our graduate students. Nonetheless, the recognition is well-deserved, and we’d like to brag about it!

Miguel Valerio received the Barbara A. Hanawalt Award for 2013-2014 for his paper, “The First Afro-Mexican Confraternity: Carnival, Betrayal, and Power in Sixteenth-Century New Spain." This award, given annually by the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, recognizes an outstanding paper written by a graduate student on a medieval or Renaissance topic.  He accepted his award at the Center’s annual spring party and awards ceremony on Tuesday, April 22 in the inner courtyard of Hagerty Hall. Miguel received a Tinker Fellowship as well to conduct research in the Dominican Republic.  

Richard Henricksen received recognition on April 17 from the University Center for the Advancement of Teaching (UCAT) with other Graduate Teaching Fellows who participated in the program. His project this past year was to help promote the use of technology in the classroom. Highlights of his involvement & tech advocacy: He co-hosted a Carmen workshop in August, was a panelist in the Blended & Online Teaching Workshop in October, and piloted the use of webcam meetings & discussion boards in SPN 3403.

Stephanie Aubry was the recipient of a post-candidacy fellowship from the Center for Folklore Studies.  Advised by Ana Del Sarto, Stephanie is exploring the circulation of rumors about social violence in Salvadoran media and public discourse. They were delighted to announce the four winners of this post-candidacy fellowship, each of whom will have a semester free of teaching to pursue dissertation fieldwork or writing.  

Patricia Arroyo Calderón  received a Presidential Fellowship for the next academic year.  This is the most competitive and prestigious scholarly recognition provided by the Graduate School—a true honor for her and for our department!

Jessica Rutherford received a Tinker Fellowship, and the Howe Travel Award from the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.  Both go toward travel to conduct research in Brazil. Thanks to the generosity of donors to the Nicholas G. Howe Memorial Fund, CMRS offers funding for graduate students working on any aspect of the Middle Ages or Renaissance.

*Edit- Departmental Awards were recently announced and are as follows:

LoAnn Crane Graduate Awards for Hispanic Studies

• Devin Grammon
• Karen López Alonzo
• Alicia Miklos
• Jaime Salinas

LoAnn Crane Undergraduate Awards for Hispanic Studies

• Isabella DeSpirito
• Doug Herrett
• Ashley Stickel

Mario Iglesias Award for Excellence in the Study of Spanish & Portuguese

• Samuel Cruz

Mario Iglesias Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Spanish & Portuguese

• Christy García

Karpus Graduate Award for the Study of Literature in Spain

• Robey Patrick

Josaphat Kubayanda Graduate Student Scholarships

• Mary Beaton
• Miguel Valerio