One faculty member in the Department Spanish and Portuguese has been promoted, demonstrating excellent performance in teaching, service and research.
Dr. Abigail Martinez Sotelo is promoted from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer.
One professor in the Department of German Studies has been promoted, demonstrating excellent performance in teaching, service and research.
Dr. Joela Jacobs is promoted from Assistant Professor to tenured Associate Professor.
Jacobs is Director of Graduate Studies for the MA and PhD programs in Transcultural German Studies, including the dual PhD/Dr. phil. degree program with the Universities of Leipzig and Cologne in Germany. She is affiliated faculty at the Arizona Institutes for Resilience: Solutions for the Environment and Society, the Department of Gender and Women's Studies, the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies, and the Graduate Interdisciplinary Program on Social, Cultural and Critical Theory. After earning her Ph.D. in Germanic Studies at the University of Chicago, she held a postdoctoral position as Humanities Teaching Scholar there. Prior to coming to the US from Germany, she studied at the Universities of Bonn, St. Andrews, and the Freie Universität Berlin to receive her M.A. in German and English Philology.
Dr. Jacobs' research focuses on the intersection of 19th-21st-century German literature and film with Plant Studies, Animal Studies, Environmental Humanities, Jewish Studies, the History of Sexuality, and the History of Science. Current books include the monograph Animal, Vegetal, Marginal: The German Literary Grotesque from Panizza to Kafka (Indiana University Press, 2025, see below), Plant Poetics: The Literary Forms and Functions of the Vegetal (Brill, 2025, co-edited with Isabel Kranz and Solvejg Nitzke), and Microbium: The Neglected Lives of Micro-Matter (punctum books, 2023, co-edited with Agnes Malinowska), in addition to several journal special issues (on the literary lives of plants, animal narratology, third-generation memory literature, and the author Oskar Panizza) as well as a forthcoming Metzler Kulturwissenschaftliches Handbuch on plants (co-edited with Isabel Kranz). She has published articles on topics as different as monstrosity, literary censorship, biopolitics, asexual ecologies, pollen, roses, plant exhibits, animal epistemology, zoopoetics, Nazi rabbit breeding, and German/Jewish/American graphic novels (for more information about publications, see here). In the Environmental Humanities, she has written several pieces about environmental education initiatives for refugees and asylum seekers in Germany, showing how a specific cultural understanding of environmentalism is instrumentalized for "integration." In Plant Studies, she working widely on phytopoetics, the way plants shape literary writing and cultural currents, with a specific focus on vegetal eroticism and violence. When it comes to animals, she has published on the tradition of the canine narrator, from Berganza to Doge. She co-founded the Literary and Cultural Plant Studies Network in 2016 and has facilitated it since.
Dr. Jacobs enjoys being in the classroom, both to teach the intricacies of German literature and language and to explore interdisciplinary connections surrounding fundamental questions about life and living beings with students. She has taught a wide range of courses on all levels of the German undergraduate and graduate curriculum and in adult & general education on topics such as German environmentalism, transatlantic perspectives on national trauma, (a)typical emotions in poetry, zombies, monsters, and fairy tales, Kafka's oeuvre, expressionist film, romanticism, and German Jewish literature. As a certified Teaching Consultant, she is always interested in talking pedagogy and classroom technology. In 2019, she received the College of Humanities Distinguished Teaching Award, and in 2020, she was honored with the University of Arizona Foundation Leicester and Kathryn Sherrill Creative Teaching Award.
Two professors in the Department of Russian and Slavic Studies have been promoted, demonstrating excellent performance in teaching, service and research.
Dr. Anastasia Gordienko is promoted from Assistant Professor to tenured Associate Professor, and Suzanne Thompson is promoted from Assistant Professor of Practice to Associate Professor of Practice.
Gordienko's interests lie in the intersection of Russian and Ukrainian politics, history, culture, and identity. Her monograph Outlaw Music in Russia: The Rise of an Unlikely Genre (UW Press, 2023) explores a paradoxical quid pro quo synergy among Russian criminal music, the shanson, and Putin’s politics.
Dr. Gordienko’s secondary interest embraces the issue of collective remembering: her ongoing empirical study, “Memories of the Past” (Pamiatʹ proshlogo), investigates the role of collective memory in Ukrainian and Russian national self-identity and intergenerational transmission of memories for these nations. Additionally, Dr. Gordienko studies stardom, fame, and politics, with a focus on how the concept of Slavic celebrity evolves during significant socio-political changes.
Thompson, an alumna of the University of Arizona Department of Russian and Slavic Studies, worked for many years in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia as an embassy attache, disarmament contractor, and journalist. She is excited to share her passion for all things Slavic with the next generation of Slavophiles.
Two professors in the Department of Public and Applied Humanities have been promoted, demonstrating excellent performance in teaching, service and research.
Dr. Jonathan Jae-an Crisman is promoted from Assistant Professor to tenured Associate Professor, and Dr. Nicholas Ferdinandt is promoted from Associate Professor of Practice to Professor of Practice.
Crisman is an artist and urban scholar whose work considers the intersections between culture, politics, and place. His book Urban Humanities: New Practices for Reimagining the City (MIT Press, 2020), co-authored with Dana Cuff, Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, Todd Presner, and Maite Zubiaurre, stakes out new disciplinary terrain for the humanities. His current research focuses on the role that art and culture can play as forms of political engagement in gentrifying cities, and (with collaborator Maite Zubiaurre) on the forensic, cultural, and political practices around migrant death in the Borderlands. Work from his collaborative art practice has been shown at the Los Angeles Contemporary Archive, the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design, the West Bund Biennial of Arts and Architecture, and the Reykjavík Arts Festival. He was formerly the founding Project Director and Core Faculty for the UCLA Urban Humanities Initiative, and was a research affiliate with USC’s Spatial Analysis Lab (SLAB) where he worked with Annette Kim on humanizing cartographic representation. He holds a PhD in Urban Planning and Development from the University of Southern California, Master of Architecture and Master in City Planning degrees from MIT, and a BA in Architectural Studies, Geography, and Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA.
Ferdinandt completed his EdD in Educational Leadership at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, where he also completed his undergraduate degree in Russian. Dr. Ferdinandt’s MA in Slavic Languages and Literatures is from The Ohio State University. Dr. Ferdinandt has been a teacher and tutor trainer as well as an ESL instructor in the US, Brazil, and Mexico. He created the University Track Pathway in the Center for English as a Second Language (CESL) at the University of Arizona and came to Public & Applied Humanities by way of the directorship at CESL (2017-2020). Dr. Ferdinandt has many years of experience as a leader in language education as a course and program developer, as well as a language program evaluator. Dr. Ferdinandt has a variety of interests that include language program evaluation, intercultural training, leadership for intercultural understanding, and myth and story as social construction.
Congratulations to Alexander Maldonado Salas, the College of Humanities Outstanding Senior for Spring 2025!
Maldonado is graduating with a triple major in Applied Humanities, with a Business Administration emphasis, Spanish with a Translation and Interpretation emphasis, and Psychology, with a minor in Economics.
Nicholas Ferdinandt, Professor of Practice in the Department of Public and Applied Humanities, said from the start, Maldonado was highly motivated and driven in the classroom
“Mr. Maldonado’s dedication to and engagement in humanities enterprises embodies the spirit and values of the humanities broadly defined—learning and sharing through applying what you’ve learned to advance the interests of people around you with empathy, intercultural awareness, and selfless service,” Ferdinandt said.
Outside the classroom, Maldonado served as the Project Research Lead for the 100 Thousand Strong Cacao for Peace Program, traveling to Colombia, and a student ambassador for the College of Humanities and worked on campus as an Educational Peer Mentor at the SALT Center, Market Research Student Analyst with Tech Launch Arizona, among other activities.
“People know Mr. Maldonado to be enterprising, dedicated, and welcoming. He’s a person who looks out for others and tries to find solutions to human problems,” Ferdinandt said. “He also proved himself to be a persevering, hard worker, who didn’t just seek to learn, but also to apply his learning during the semester.”
In his convocation address, Maldonado told fellow graduates that “if there’s one word that sums up what brought me to this moment, it’s perseverance. Not talent. Not luck.”
“Balancing three majors, various internships and part-time work has not been easy, but it has instilled in me a deep sense of resilience and purpose that has allowed me to prosper and learn to overcome any challenges and seek innovative and creative solutions to any problems that I am faced with,” he said. “The humanities have been a constant source of inspiration and strength, reminding me of the power of stories, community, and adaptability in overcoming challenges.”
After graduating, Maldonado will begin a master’s degree program in Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Arizona State University, with plans for a career in advancing workplace equity and fostering cross-cultural understanding.
“Studying in the Humanities has been life-changing. Not only did it allow me to major in interesting subjects, but it has also taught me to think critically, combine human elements and apply them to any setting, and to see the world — and the people in it — through a more intercultural competent perspective. Sharing this journey with so many brilliant and passionate minds demonstrates the potential that the Humanities can have in the world,” he said.
Wojtek Gornicki, a Ph.D. candidate in Transcultural German Studies, is the College of Humanities 2025 Outstanding Graduate Assistant in Teaching Award recipient.
Since joining the Ph.D. Program in Transcultural German Studies in fall 2019, Gornicki has been a graduate student representative, assistant language program director, an instructor of German in all teaching modalities (online, hybrid, face-to-face) and in the faculty-led study abroad program, Arizona Summer Study in Leipzig, Germany.
“In all these functions, Mr. Gornicki has exemplified professionalism and collegial generosity, and he has evolved into a true leader among the GATs in our department,” wrote faculty nominators Peter Ecke, Janice McGregor and Thomas Fuhr. “The difference that Mr. Gornicki has made in mentoring junior teaching colleagues and students, developing (online, hybrid, and in-person) classes, teaching materials and assessments, and problem-solving has been unmatched by GATs over the last few years.”
Gornicki has become known as the “online-teaching wizard” for the German language program, having collaborated in the creation of four online German courses, which significantly increased enrollments in those classes.
“Not only did he help to develop the courses themselves, he served as the first instructor and guinea pig for two of the courses, and consulted with other instructors, as they piloted new materials. Mr. Gornicki took the lead in exploring new uses of the technologies available to make sure that these asynchronous classes remained engaging and interactive,” wrote the faculty nominators.
Gornicki has also excelled in his own teaching, at all levels in the basic language program, as a co-teacher for large online language classes, and also as a TA for larger courses.
“He is an extraordinary GAT whose professional integrity, kindness, and leadership skills have set him apart. We believe that for his steadfastness in putting his humanities and applied linguistics training into practice and into service for the department and the college, Mr. Gornicki represents the excellence we strive for in the College of Humanities,” wrote the faculty nominators. “During his Ph.D. studies, he has contributed to the German Studies department in ways that will have a lasting influence on the program and its people.”
Several students wrote in support of the nomination, with one highlighting Gornicki’s ability to make students comfortable speaking German in class through simple discussions that could transform a silent classroom into a lively and talkative one.
“Something I always appreciated about Wojtek’s classes, both on the U of A campus and while abroad in Leipzig, was how well he was able to answer questions and explain things to students. Any teacher should, of course, be able to answer their students' questions, but over my time taking language classes, I have seen that there is a big difference between being able to speak a language and knowing how to teach it,” wrote one student.
“Wojtek is a fantastic teacher, who reminds us what education entails,” wrote another student. “He always found ways to keep us involved and allowed us to interact with the course material in innovative ways. With Wojtek, every lesson felt like a new foray into German culture and history. His passionate yet empathetic instruction inspired my fellow students and me to put forth our best effort.”
Borbala Gaspar, Lecturer in the Department of French and Italian, is the recipient of the College of Humanities 2025 Distinguished Teaching Award.
Gaspar has a “360-degree approach to education (that) extends to every student, fostering a community of individuals who grow together and learn from each other’s experiences,” wrote fellow Italian faculty member Maria Letizia Bellocchio, herself a 2021 recipient of the COH teaching award, in a nomination letter signed by the rest of the Italian faculty members.
“Not only does Borbala excel as an educator, but she embodies genuine care for her students,” Bellocchio wrote. “In the classroom, Borbala creates an inclusive environment conducive to learning, empowering students to comfortably express their identities and step beyond their comfort zones, recognizing mistakes as integral to both academic and personal development.”
Gaspar teaches basic language and General Education courses, serves as the faculty advisor of the student-led Dolce Vita Italian Club, organizes countless student events, mentors first-year Ph.D. students in the SLAT program, and contributes as a member of the college-wide student recruitment task force.
In her courses, Gaspar includes real-world cultural examples – photographs, advertisements, posters, short video clips, online articles, literary texts, infographics, social media posts and maps – to prompt students to think critically about the language.
“After having built a strong community of students, Borbala promotes student agency by encouraging active engagement with the Italian language and fostering critical analysis of cultural aspects,” Bellocchio wrote. “This approach ensures students develop an awareness of the complex dynamics between textual conventions and context, gaining insights into language, understanding genres, and exploring cultural significance.”
Several students also wrote letters in support of Gaspar’s nomination.
“Dr. Gaspar’s authentic passion for teaching as well as her care for her students is made evident from the moment you step into her classroom. She is truly committed to helping each student improve their Italian language and comprehension skills and develop an overall appreciation for the subject and the humanities,” wrote another. “She is a one-of-a-kind professor who has made such a positive lasting impact both on my educational career and on my overall experience at the University of Arizona.”
“Dr. Gaspar poured so much of her time into me by not only discussing Italian but also my plans for the future. I once had expressed to her how overwhelming and frankly intimidating the prospect of post-university realities seemed. I expressed to her my interest in working in a museum, and later that night, I received a message from her saying she had contacted museums in Italy on my behalf inquiring about summer internships,” wrote one student.
“Dr. Gaspar is exceedingly deserving of this award because of her eagerness to help her students however she can, both inside and outside the classroom. She is a talented educator and a strong pillar of support for her students,” wrote another student. “Borbi has a gift for connecting deeply with her students and encouraging learning with a positive attitude, even when it may seem daunting to students. She continuously creates a passion for learning for her students, even beyond the scope of the course curriculum. It was largely due to her teaching and encouragement that I declared Italian as a second major.”
Alison Jameson, Associate Professor of Practice in the Departments of Religious Studies and Classics and East Asian Studies, is the recipient of the College of Humanities 2025 Distinguished Undergraduate Advising/Mentoring Award.
Karen Seat, Head of the Department of Religious Studies & Classics, nominated Jameson for the honor, writing that she “spends the time to get to know each and every student who comes to her office, and offers herself as a faculty advisor they can count on to support them each step of the way through their academic career.”
“Dr. Jameson consistently goes above and beyond her regular duties to serve not only as an advisor but also as a tireless advocate, mentor, and anchor for our students,” Seat wrote. “As the primary faculty advisor for undergraduates in Religious Studies since 2016, she has spent an enormous amount of time and energy with students in this capacity, due to her deep commitment to their success and wellbeing.”
Seat noted that Jameson often “goes out of her way to advocate for students facing challenges or obstacles to their success,” which students wrote about in their own nomination letters.
“Professor Jameson’s guidance as an advisor was especially invaluable to me during one of the most challenging periods of my life,” wrote one student, detailing physical and mental struggles. “She not only provided academic guidance but also offered empathy and encouragement when I needed it most. Her care and understanding made me feel seen and supported when I otherwise felt isolated.
“Her commitment to her students’ academic and personal growth, coupled with her ability to inspire and guide, makes her more than deserving of this recognition. I am deeply grateful for the impact she has had on my life, and I am confident that her contributions will continue to enrich the academic community for years to come.”
“Anytime I felt myself worried about what I was doing or what to do next, I felt like Dr. Jameson was in my corner, helping me figure out the next step in the path, and if there wasn’t an obvious one, she was helping me lay a new stepping stone,” wrote another student. “She was a calm, confident presence, a person to whom I could go with any uncertainty or curiosity. I truly appreciate having had her as my adviser, and I believe that she deserves to be recognized by the College of Humanities for her advisership and mentorship to the undergraduate students.”
Seat wrote that Jameson’s has also been tireless in recruiting students, both through the relationships she develops in her own teaching, including Gen Ed courses that include large numbers of first- and second-year students, and through representing the department at various campus events. She has worked to create a sense of community among students, helping to develop the department’s first-ever Religious Studies student club.
With most Religious Studies students having two or three majors, Jameson makes painstaking efforts to work with them to map out their degree plan so that they can successfully complete all their degree commitments.
“Dr. Jameson also teaches large numbers of freshmen and sophomores in her Gen Ed classes, and develops relationships with many students in her classes that result in major/minor declarations,” Seat wrote. “Dr. Jameson quietly and steadily gives her all to mentoring and advising students, year in and year out.”
Judd Ruggill, founding Head of the Department of Public and Applied Humanities, has received the 2025 University of Arizona Distinguished Head/Director’s Award.
“You have distinguished yourself not only through your visionary administrative expertise, but also through the trust you cultivate, the collaborations you inspire, and the resources you steward with remarkable care and foresight,” wrote Interim Provost Ronald Marx. “Under your leadership, Public and Applied Humanities has flourished into one of the most vibrant, collaborative and intellectually dynamic units on our campus.
Founded in 2017, the Department of Public and Applied Humanities has grown from 8 students in its first year to 405 now, an increase of nearly 5,000 percent over seven years.
“The exponential growth of the department’s enrollment, the successful establishment of multi-college academic pathways, and the elevation of inclusive excellence as a guiding principle—all testify to your dedication, creativity, and strategic brilliance,” Marx wrote.
Notably, Ruggill was the only full-time faculty member in the department at its founding. The department now has 16 core faculty members and four adjunct instructors.
“There was no other model for such a unit in the country, we knew it would have to be radically collaborative and transdisciplinary. The fact that the unit has grown significantly every single year for the last seven years, however, is a compelling sign that a very skillful leader is at the helm,” wrote the College of Humanities four deans in a joint nomination letter. “Dr. Ruggill worked extremely hard as a Department Head to bring our new department to life, and he has succeeded so well that it is now a jewel in the crown of our college and a model of the future of the Humanities at the national level.”
In another joint nomination letter, the department’s senior faculty noted that under Ruggill’s leadership, Public and Applied Humanities has developed into one of the most collaborative units on campus.
“A practiced proponent of true shared governance, Dr. Ruggill assiduously supports the will of our departmental team, which includes staff and faculty of all ranks and classifications,” they wrote. “With his attention to detail and his trust in our team’s ability to build an effective department together, Dr. Ruggill uses a deft administrative touch that has helped our curriculum develop organically from our interests and strengths, as well as for the needs of our students.”
The B.A. in Applied Humanities provides students with a transdisciplinary education combining professional skills with the cognitive, creative, international, interpersonal, and intercultural intelligences and competencies taught in the humanities.
Students can select from 11 emphases, the result of strong partnerships with colleges across campus: Business Administration; Consumer, Market & Retail Studies; Engineering Approaches; Environmental Systems; Fashion Studies; Game Studies; Medicine; Plant Studies; Public Health; Rural Leadership & Renewal; and Spatial Organization & Design Thinking.
“Dr. Ruggill rarely lets institutional or structural challenges get in the way of a good collaboration,” the senior faculty wrote. “Dr. Ruggill’s spirited support of faculty, his clear guidance for collaboratively developing our courses, and his focus on fiscal responsibility and revenue growth made it possible for the faculty to assemble a robust, unique, and compelling degree built on a curricular structure both strong and flexible.”
Ruggill joined the U of A faculty in 2016 as part of the Computational Media Cluster initiative. He primarily researches play and the technologies, industries and sociocultural phenomena that enable it. He has published and presented on topics ranging from archiving to xenolinguistics, and in his spare time plays the double bass.
The Distinguished Head/Director’s Award was created in 2021, sponsored by the University of Arizona Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. The award recognizes uncommon performance, calling attention to individuals whose leadership and management has raised the standards, expectations, and reputation of the unit as a whole, or who have otherwise brought excellence, innovation, and high ethical standards to the art of being a unit head or director. Karen Seat, Head of the Department of Religious Studies and Classics and Director of the School of International Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, was one of the inaugural recipients.
Kristy Doran, Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, has won the 2025 University of Arizona 5-Star Teaching Award.
Announced by the W.A. Franke Honors College, the award is the only student-selected award that recognizes excellence in teaching across the University of Arizona. Funded by Dr. Margaret M. Briehl and Dr. Dennis T. Ray, the award comes with a cash prize.
“Profe. Doran's energy, passion, and dedication to her students is apparent both in the classroom and across the community. Her love for learning and her curiosity for the world is unmatched. Our students are incredibly fortunate to have her expertise, and this award is very well deserved!” said Andrew Pongratz, a member of the 5-Star Teaching Award Committee.
For six years, Doran served as Director of the Spanish Basic Language Program, overseeing one of the nation’s largest programs with over 6,000 students enrolled annually. She led innovative changes that advanced student success, supported program employees, and modernized the program through the introduction of Universal Design for Learning principles in the curriculum.
Doran received numerous nominations from students:
“Dr. Doran is by far the most supportive teacher and mentor I have ever encountered. She is clear with her expectations, but is also understanding and supportive when unexpected situations occur. She encourages out-of-the-box thinking and using creative ways to think critically. She has accomplished being the perfect balance of structure, support and engaging,” one student wrote.
“She has become my role-model for how I want to be as a professor one day. As my thesis mentor, she has helped me brainstorm project ideas, taught me how to create a timeline, introduced me to new resources, and supported me every step of the way. She not only values my work academically, but also respects me as a person. She has even gone above and beyond for me by going out of her way to help me resolve a problem I encountered outside of our direct work together,” wrote another.
In 2021, Doran received the Distinguished Undergraduate Advising/Mentoring Award from the College of Humanities, and the University of Arizona Provost Office Arizona Champion Award.
Prior College of Humanities winners of the Five Star Faculty Award include:
2021: Rob Stephan, Religious Studies and Classics
2018: Edgard Ore-Giron, Spanish and Portuguese
2017: Annette Joseph-Gabriel, French and Italian
2016: Anders Peterson, Spanish and Portuguese
2013: Alain-Philippe Durand, French and Italian
2009: Albrecht Classen, German Studies
2008: Melissa Fitch, Spanish and Portuguese
2004: David Soren, Classics
2000: Jon Solomon, Classics
1997: Ana Perches, Spanish and Portuguese
1996: Elizabeth Harrison, East Asian Studies
1995: Kamakshi Murti, German Studies
1987: Robert A. Burns, Religious Studies
1985: Donna Swaim, Humanities
1984: Vicky Hamblin, French