The Office of the Provost named Associate Professor Alejandro Enriquez the winner of the Stan and Sandy Rives Excellence in Undergraduate Education Award.
Dr. Alejandro Enriquez holds a Ph.D. in Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian literature and linguistics from the University of Minnesota. Enriquez is an associate professor of Spanish in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, in addition to holding a joint appointment with the Latin American and Latino/a Studies Program. As part of his joint appointment, he teaches classes in U.S. Latino Studies, including the LAL 109 Introduction to U.S. Latino Populations, the course that inspired the Communities of Belonging and Academic Success (COBAS) initiative.
Enriquez proposed teaching a section of LAL 109, open only to first-time in college students (FTICs) with bilingual abilities, as a translingual course, that is, a course in which the language of the class and the materials taught move between English and Spanish, reflecting and celebrating the realities of bilingual communities. The redesigned course allows students to use their mother tongue in an academic setting, making their linguistic identity an asset rather than an impediment in this course. As a course for FTIC students, the coursework is intended to introduce students to university resources.
According to the College of Arts and Sciences Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Student Success Rocío Rivadeneyra, Enriquez’s innovative pedagogy “has the potential of transforming the first-year experience at ISU and should be a model for all general education courses.”
