Five students in the new Portuguese Flagship Program have received the prestigious Boren Scholarship, worth $25,000, to fund their capstone years in Brazil. 

The Portuguese Flagship Program was launched in fall 2024 with a $1.2 million grant, which provides numerous resources to students studying Portuguese, including one-to-one advising and tutoring, career counseling with local professionals, summer study abroad opportunities in Salvador, the capital of Bahia in northeastern Brazil, and a capstone year in Brazil for additional classes and internships. 

“We are thrilled and proud to celebrate this achievement — it is a huge step in the academic and professional trajectory of these incredible students,” said Kátia Bezerra, Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and Director of the Portuguese Flagship Program. 

The U of A is one of two institutions awarded a Portuguese Flagship grant, joining the University of Georgia, and one of four universities nationally with at least two flagship programs. The Boren recipients are Brianna Devlin, Max Hayward, Pablo Enrique Martinez Bojorquez, Julianna Schrader and Austin Willis. 

“What I value most about the Boren Scholarship is the focus on language learning tied directly to public service; I won’t just spend a capstone year in Brazil, but apply my experience in a meaningful way. The scholarship has reinforced my commitment to working in international policy, and is providing me with the tools I need to be successful in my dream career as an attorney for global human rights,” Schrader said. 

“The world I was born into isn’t the only one I’ll ever know. I make my own fate, and through Boren, learning Portuguese became the first step in changing my own world,” said Pablo Enrique Martinez Bojorquez. 

“Boren is so important to me because it is a way that I can further my knowledge about my future career field. As an aspiring Portuguese interpreter, it is extremely important that I expand my Portuguese fluency - what better way to do this than to live in Brazil! I am very grateful to have received funding to be able to travel to Brazil and continue learning a language that is so special to me. Boren is beneficial to me because instead of paying for my Flagship program out of pocket, I now have the financial help to experience Brazil and its culture to the fullest and not having finances impede my experience! I want to say thank you again to Boren for selecting me to receive such a generous and prestigious scholarship,” Hayward said. 

“Boren is so important for my educational and future career goals. Without it, I would not be able to complete my Capstone year in Brazil. I am so beyond grateful for this opportunity provided by the scholarship and I cannot wait to embark on my professional journey abroad,” Devlin said. 

The Language Flagship programs, are a public/private partnership sponsored by the National Security Education Program of the Department of Defense and administered by the Institute of International Education. The program seeks to graduate students with professional-level proficiency in a language critical to U.S. national security, including Portuguese.

The U of A has nearly 50-year history teaching Portuguese, with a multidisciplinary curriculum that has attracted about 1,600 students into Portuguese language and culture courses over the last five years. 

Jasmine Linabary, Assistant Professor in the Department of Public and Applied Humanities, will receive the 2025 Helen Award for Emerging Feminist Scholarship. 

The award, given by the International Communication Association’s Feminist Scholarship Division, “recognizes and supports those whose early research and leadership demonstrate strong contributions to date and significant promise for future development in feminist communication and/or media studies.” The award will be presented in June at the International Communication Association conference in Denver. 

“We were very impressed with your work, including its/your collaborative nature, and connection with feminism, feminist scholarship, and feminist activism,” said an announcement from the award committee. 

According to a nomination letter, Linabary’s contributions to feminist communication scholarship include co-editing a special issue and forum on feminist organization communication for Management Communication Quarterly and leading an interdisciplinary research team to explore the use of hashtags for feminist activism in response to gender-based violence. Her first-authored article about postfeminist contradictions in the hashtag #WhyIStayed has become often cited among feminist new media scholars as well as in work related to domestic violence and online and offline organizing.

In addition to her academic publications, her nominator spoke to Linabary’s collaborative work with community partners, including her long-term partnership with the nonprofit World Pulse, an independent, women-led social network for social change.

“As an engaged activist-scholar, Linabary is pushing the field forward in her use of feminist participatory action research. Thus, her influence on feminist scholarship has multiple impacts, as she is not just contributing new knowledge on issues of gender equity; she is also creating new knowledge on how to do this work differently, specifically by engaging the voices of those most affected by the issues themselves,” Linabary’s nominator wrote. “This type of creativity and leadership is unique in our field, making Linabary a go-to voice for participatory research and engaged methods.” 

Last year, Linabary received the Dorrance Dean’s Award for Research & Entrepreneurialism from the College of Humanities for her project “Engaging Voices from the ‘Margin to the Center’: Activating Methods of the Humanities to #ShiftthePower.” 

Congratulations to Jiang Wu, Professor in the Department of East Asian Studies and Director of the Center for Buddhist Studies, on being named a Regents Professor! 

Interim Provost Ron Marx introduced Wu to the Arizona Board of Regents as the “recognized go-to scholar for Chinese and East Asian Buddhism.” Marx listed praise from international scholars for Wu’s ground-breaking first book Enlightenment in Dispute: The Reinvention of Chan Buddhism in Seventeenth-century China, published in 2008, including a statement that Wu is “one of the most productive and creative scholars of his generation.” 

A leading scholar of Chinese and East Asian Buddhism, Wu’s research focuses on how the religion spread and how it has changed and been refined over many centuries. He has written multiple books on Chinese history, including Leaving for the Rising Sun: Chinese Zen Master Yinuan and the Authenticity Crisis in Early Modern East Asia, which won the inaugural Tianzhu Book Prize for Excellence in Chan Studies from the Tianzhu Buddhist Network.

Wu received a prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship in 2023 to support his project Scripture and Modernity: The Obaku Buddhist Canon in East Asia and the West, which examines a Buddhist text created in China and later reproduced in Japan. He was also awarded a Certificate of Congressional Recognition by U.S. Rep. Judy Chu of California and received the City of Rosemead, California, Award of Recognition in 2018.

As founding director of the university’s Center for Buddhist Studies, his leadership has significantly contributed to the center’s global reputation in the field. 

Also approved as Regents Professors were Janko Nikolich, Department Head and Professor, Department of Immunobiology in the College of Medicine – Tucson, and Dennis Zaritsky, Professor, Department of Astronomy in the College of Science. 

Regents Professor is the highest faculty rank at the University of Arizona, awarded to full professors whose exceptional achievements warrant national and international distinction. Appointments to this rank are limited to no more than 3 percent of the university’s tenured and tenure-track faculty members.

Wu is the second College of Humanities faculty member named as a Regents Professor in recent years, following Sonia Colina of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese in 2021. 

The College of Humanities is proud to announce the following recipients of the Spring 2025 COH Scholarships.

Please join us in congratulating them on their outstanding achievements!
 

Alene Kelsey Metcalf Family Scholarship
Daniela Gonzalez | Majors: Russian; Spanish; Linguistics

Dana and Jeffrey Vandersip Endowed Humanities Award
Anthony Jimenez | Majors: Spanish; Personal & Family Financial Planning
Benjamin Rothermich | Majors: German Studies; Performance

Dante S. Lauretta and M. Katherine Crombie Award
Ethan McNew | Majors: Biochemistry; Molecular & Cellular Biology; Minor: Spanish

David Evans and Lucille C. Nutt Scholarship
Elizabeth Lendo | Majors: Spanish; Art History
Chloe Thompson | Majors: Spanish; Biochemistry; Biochemistry

Gerard Agnieray Memorial Scholarship
Jazmin Stein Torres | Majors: French; Italian

Humanities Matter Scholarship
Winner: Kelli Alexander | Major: Applied Humanities
Honorable Mention: Gabe Bermudez | Major: Applied Humanities
Honorable Mention: Adrian Ureta | Majors: Spanish; Business Management

Mary Ann Farman Memorial Scholarship
Amber Grijalva Islas | Majors: Spanish; Nursing

Misto-Ertz Scholarship
Maria Mouza | Major: French
Loyda Vance | Majors: Spanish; Urban and Regional Development

Quiteria M. Nelson Scholarship
Alivia Alexander | Majors: Spanish; Leadership Learning Innovation
Alice Miranda | Majors: Italian; Biochemistry; Molecular & Cellular Biology
Dorothy Stocks | Majors: Spanish; Global Studies

Samuel and Louise McMillan Scholarship
Laurel Burkholder | Majors: German Studies; Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences
Maxwell Eller | Major: Classics

Van de Verde Memorial Scholarship
Matthew Burke | Majors: Spanish; Political Science
Linus Friedman | Majors: German Studies; Sustainable Built Environments
Maddy Ressel | Majors: French; Molecular & Cellular Biology

Stephen D. Todd Interdisciplinary Humanities Scholarship
Mia Roig | Major: Applied Humanities

STUDY ABROAD SCHOLARSHIPS

Alfred and Mary Beigel Memorial Scholarship
Maddie McCaskill | Majors: German Studies; Architecture

Donna Dillon Manning and Larry Horner Endowed Humanities Award for Study Abroad
Adiba Haque | Majors: German Studies; Biomedical Engineering
Sriya Ramisetty | Majors: Applied Humanities; Physiology & Medical Sciences

Donna Swaim Study Abroad Award for Double Majors
Abigail Chavez | Majors: Spanish; Psychology; Mexican American Studies

Werner Schirmer Memorial Scholarship
Rachel DeWitt | Majors: French; Physics
 

A sociolinguist who studies the unique aspects of bilingual speakers in border regions, Ana Carvalho has conducted research for decades in Portuguese-speaking communities of northern Uruguay. 

But Carvalho sought to tell the story of those communities in a different way, so she stepped into the world of documentary filmmaking, directing the 82-minute Vozes das Margens, a celebratory portrait of Uruguayan Portuguese, a unique dialect, while exploring how language, place and society intertwine in border living.

“I’ve been researching there for 30 years, going back a lot to continue to collect data, so it was for me, at this point in my career, an ethical obligation to think of ways to give back to the community,” she said. “I’m grateful to them, but they never saw the results of my work, so I was never able to give back. I wanted to tell the story in a different way.” 

Carvalho, a Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, began preliminary work on the documentary during her 2020 sabbatical, writing a grant proposal for the project. With a faculty grant from the College of Humanities, and other funding, she began filming in 2022. The documentary, which premiered last year in Uruguay, Brazil and Portugal, will screen on campus in the fall. 

“This film is meant to celebrate diversity and celebrate bilingualism,” Carvalho said. 

Carvalho has studied bilingual Spanish-English communities in and around Tucson, but has conducted most of her research in the border region between Uruguay and Brazil. There are about 200,000 native Portuguese speakers in Uruguay, a legacy of colonization and poorly delineated borders in the 1700s and 1800s. By the end of the 19^th century, the Uruguayan government began to implement measures to eradicate Portuguese from the area and make Spanish obligatory. 

“While Uruguay was successful in implementing Spanish, in areas were Portuguese was the main language, it’s remained as a heritage language,” Carvalho said. “It’s still a local language and very attuned to the idea of the border area and identity.” 

Uruguayan Portuguese speakers can face linguistic discrimination and mocking and Carvalho said she wanted to counter the misperceptions of language abilities that designate people as “semi-lingual.” The documentary shows how truly bilingual the border residents are.

“I also wanted to disseminate ideas of language as a human right,” she said. “People have the right to speak their home language in public domains.”

The film consists of interviews with about 20 people, filmed over a 22-day period in which Carvalho and three independent documentary cinematographers she hired in Uruguay traveled more than 600 kilometers to visit various communities. 

With no outside interviews or expert opinions, the subjects of the film relate their own experiences with language. Carvalho identified common topics throughout the narratives, editing the film around the themes of bilingualism (how, when, where and to whom people are socially conditioned to speak different languages), how they acquired Portuguese at home as a heritage language, linguistic discrimination and insecurity, the community language shifting to Spanish monolingualism over generations, and not to end on a sad note, the value of local language and identity. The film features poetry and music in Uruguayan Portuguese, demonstrating regional pride. 

The film premiered in the communities where it was filmed and then at a Cinemateca in Montevideo. Carvalho said she was struck by the contrast between the largely rural audiences and the intellectual urbanites of the capital city, most of whom had no idea about the bilingual border communities. The documentary was featured in television interviews in both locales, as well as radio and newspaper interviews. 

“The press and publicity were very welcome. People could see, hear or read about sociolinguistic concepts, language ideologies and how harmful language prejudice can be,” she said. 

After showing in Uruguay, Vozes das Margens began showing at conferences and film festivals. Last October, it screened at Portugual’s long-running international festival Doclisboa, becoming a finalist for an award. The film has been submitted to additional festivals for 2025 in Germany, Italy and Canada. 

The long-term plan is to make the film available for streaming. Carvalho is currently preparing accompanying materials for teachers to use in classrooms, guiding them through discussion topics like heritage languages, bilingualism, ideologies and code-switching.

“Uruguayan Portuguese is a variety of Portuguese like any other. Because people also speak Spanish, code-switching is common, as is the use of some words only in Spanish, such as names of institutions or professions,” she said. “The documentary celebrates linguistic diversity and hopefully, will lead viewers to critically re-think language ideologies.” 

The UA Poetry Center received an award at this year’s Tucson Festival of Books for outstanding service and dedication to the festival. 

The Poetry Center has played an integral role in the festival since it began in 2009, helping to identify outstanding poets to invite and manage the poetry venue, said Brenda Viner, one of the festival’s founders and secretary of the board. 

The Tucson Festival of Books drew an estimated 130,000 people to campus on March 15 and 16, with presentations by more than 400 authors, including 16 poets.

“TFOB can't imagine a more appropriate partner,” said Executive Director Abra McAndrew. “The national reputation of the UA Poetry Center enhances our capacity to attract major literary stars to Tucson, including poets recognized with Pulitzer and Pushcart Prizes, National Book Awards, Poet Laureates and other significant recognition. The Poetry Center has helped to welcome participating poets to Tucson, a city well-prepared to value and appreciate their work thanks to the education, events and library it offers.” 

The TFOB’s 2025 community award was presented at the Friday evening gala for authors, accepted by the Poetry Center Executive Director Tyler Meier and Event Coordinator Paola Valenzuela. 

“The Poetry Center is so grateful for the work of the Tucson Festival of Books, and for the juggernaut it has grown in to. It is one of the finest book festivals anywhere, nurturing and celebrating a vibrant city of readers,” Meier said. “For those reasons alone, this recognition from the Tucson Festival of Books is deeply meaningful, and we’re honored to receive this award.”

Suzanne Panferov Reese, director of the Critical Languages Program and chair of the Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Second Language Acquisition & Teaching, has received the 2025 James E. Alatis Award for Service to TESOL. 

Founded in 1966, TESOL International Association, or Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, is the largest professional organization for teachers of English as a second or foreign language. The service award was established in 1987 to honor James E. Alatis, TESOL’s first executive director, for his 21 years of devoted service. 

Panferov Reese, also a faculty member in the Department of Public and Applied Humanities, previously served as president of the TESOL International Association Board of Directors from 2012 to 2013 and on the organization’s board from 2008 to 2014. The award was presented by current TESOL President Justin Shewell at the TESOL convention earlier this month in Long Beach, Calif. 

“I am so grateful and honored to receive this award. Jim Alatis recognized and valued language education and multilingualism, values which I hold near and dear to my heart,” she said. “And now, after more than three decades of TESOL giving this award, amplifying these values and advocating for our students and our profession is more critical than ever.” 

The award recognizes “genuine and long-lasting support of TESOL International Association through leadership and service, exemplary professionalism and representation of TESOL values” and a commitment to the mission of TESOL. 

Panferov Reese’s research focuses on language program administration, professional development, teacher training, pedagogy and literacy acquisition. She has published on topics ranging from teachers transitioning into professional leadership roles, ESL program marketing and parental support for K-12 ELL students.

Currently, she serves on the Board of Trustees for the International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF) as the Vice President. Since joining the University of Arizona in 2003, she has also been director of the Center for English as a Second Language, director of the National Center for Interpretation and Associate Vice President of Global Engagement. 

We are pleased to announce our 2024-2025 Inaugural Humanities Fearless Scholars (listed with their College of Humanities majors)! 

Jezaniah Allen (Major:  Africana Studies)
Bryanna Alvarado (Majors:  Spanish, Applied Humanities)
Dorian Andrews (Major:  Classics)
Santino Armenta (Major:  Russian)
Athina Bella Ballenger-Maurelli (Majors: Spanish, Italian)
Laurel Burkholder (Major:  German Studies)
Genna Burns (Major:  French)
Anna Chen (Major:  East Asian Studies)
Sydney Crouthers (Major:  Spanish)
Italia Delgado (Majors:  East Asian Studies, Applied Humanities)
Simon DeMangus (Major:  Religious Studies)
Josephine Desmarais (Major:  Russian)
Tokujiro Ellis (Major:  Spanish)
Brynn Feinstein (Major:  French)
Alec Gibson (Major:  Spanish) 
Rebekah Herrera (Major:  East Asian Studies)
Isabella Hightower (Major:  Spanish)
Caiden Horn (Major:  French)
Eleanor Jolly (Major:  Applied Humanities)
Sid Kabra (Major:  Religious Studies)
Elise Kerr (Major:  Interdisciplinary Studies)
Maddie Klein (Major:  Applied Humanities)
Anna Latimer (Major:  Humanities)
Jay Leslie (Major:  East Asian Studies)
Rayanne Lockhart (Major:  Russian)
Maddie McCaskill (Major:  German Studies)
Sarahi Mejia (Major:   Spanish)
Alma Melendez (Major:  Spanish)
Zabrina Meza (Major:  Applied Humanities)
Madelyn Miller (Major:  Interdisciplinary Studies)
Tana Miros (Majors:  World Literature, Classics)
Lillie Nieves (Major:  Applied Humanities)
Ana Ojeda (Major:  Applied Humanities)
Andrea Ortega Delfin (Major:  Spanish)
Samantha Osteen (Major:  Spanish)
Isabella Perez (Major:  Spanish)
Catherine Peterman (Majors:  Russian, East Asian Studies)
Ayden Rappa (Major:  East Asian Studies)
Meagan Rausch (Major:  East Asian Studies)
Isabel Richardson (Major:  Spanish)
Aylin Rochin (Major:  Spanish)
Selene Romero (Major:  French)
Josh Ruiz (Major:  Applied Humanities)
Lily Schmidt (Major:  Classics)
Molly Schreiner (Major:  Italian)
Jazmin Stein Torres (Majors:  French, Italian) 
Chloe Thompson (Major:  Spanish)
Angel Villa (Major:  Applied Humanities)
Angela Villela Salazar (Major:  Spanish)