TAMIU Profs Awarded Scholarships for Spanish Study

Five Texas A&M International University professors plan to spend five weeks attending a language program at the Center for Linguistic and Multicultural Studies at Universidad Internacional in Cuernavaca, México, to improve their knowledge of Spanish and Mexican culture during the University’s Maymester.

Dr. Robert Haynes, associate professor of English, Dr. Susan Berdahl, assistant professor of music, Dr. James Norris, assistant professor of political science, Dr. Denise Gates, assistant professor of business, and Dr. Carlene (Miki) Henderson, assistant professor of early childhood, received a scholarship funded by a Title VI Grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program, to attend the program from May 10 – May 31.

“Through the Faculty Language Acquisition Program, or FLAP, we hope to increase the number of TAMIU faculty members who have a command of Spanish and Latin American cultures,” explained Dr. Kati Pletsch de García, associate professor of English and Hispanic studies and project director.

“Recipients will be placed in a classroom appropriate to their language needs—from beginning to advanced and will receive 60+ hours of intensive study designed to improve their knowledge of Spanish and Mexican culture,” said Dr. Pletsch de García.

The professors will not be the only ones in Cuernavaca representing TAMIU. A group of students will spend their Maymester in a Study Abroad program that combines learning and practicing Spanish language and culture for the professions and an international service project in the Mexican community.

For more information, please contact Pletsch de García at 326.2614 or e-mail kdegarcia@tamiu.edu or visit offices in Anthony J. and Georgia A. Pellegrino Hall, room 215D.

For information on the University’s student Study Abroad programs, contact Jannet García, director of international education, at 326.2565, e-mail jannetg@tamiu.edu or visit offices located in Pellegrino Hall 302.

University office hours are 8 a.m. – 5p.m., Monday – Friday.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu