![A girl on a beach from a postcard](https://d1gtq9mqg5x3oe.cloudfront.net/hermes/images/_articles/photography/urnow/2023/10-october/11-other-vacations-new/promo/other-vacations-promo-new-2-640x360.png)
![Promo size Lalwani Karthik](https://d1gtq9mqg5x3oe.cloudfront.net/hermes/images/as/lalis/student-success/Lalwani-Karthik2-headshot/promo/Promo-Karthik-1024x576.png)
Lalwani Awarded Top Honor
As a double major in chemistry and LALIS, Karthik Lalwani embraces a multifaceted education coupled with real-world applications to become a responsible global citizen. As the recipient of the University of Richmond Mace Award, he will have the honor of being the mace bearer during commencement. Each year, the name of the most outstanding University of Richmond graduating student is inscribed upon the mace, a tradition established in 1947.
"During my four years at the University of Richmond, I have been incredibly grateful for the opportunities afforded to me through my studies and community engagement. Working as a medical assistant and interpreter at the local free clinic, Health Brigade, has cemented my passion for medicine. This experience, supported by the guidance of the LALIS faculty, enabled me to study abroad and immerse myself deeply in the Chilean medical system."
"Carrying the ceremonial mace during the graduation ceremony will be one of the greatest honors of my life, a memory I will forever cherish. As I pursue a career at the intersection of equity and healthcare, I am confident that my experiences in the LALIS department will continue to be a significant guiding force. I am deeply thankful to the faculty, staff, and fellow students in the LALIS department for their profound impact on my academic and personal growth."
Feature Stories
![A girl on a beach from a postcard](https://d1gtq9mqg5x3oe.cloudfront.net/hermes/images/_articles/photography/urnow/2023/10-october/11-other-vacations-new/promo/other-vacations-promo-new-2-640x360.png)
![Sustainability leaders from around the world spoke at University of Richmond during International Education Week](https://d1gtq9mqg5x3oe.cloudfront.net/hermes/images/_articles/photography/urnow/2023/11-november/29-international-education-week-summary/promo/ie-week-summary-promo-640x360.jpg)
![LALIS Student Award Winners](https://d1gtq9mqg5x3oe.cloudfront.net/hermes/images/as/lalis/student-awards/2023-student-award/promo/lalis-student-awards-winners-2023-promo-1024x576.jpg)
Student Award Winners
Congratulations to the 2023 LALIS Award Winners:
Outstanding LALIS Majors
Lily Miller
Outstanding Service to the Richmond Hispanic Community
Leah Kulma
Outstanding Assistant Teacher in LALIS
Nicky Ramírez
![](https://d1gtq9mqg5x3oe.cloudfront.net/images/_articles/communications/releases/2023/01-january/facilities-museum-exhibition/promo/facilities-museums-promo-660x371.jpg)
Facilities Staff Contribute to Latest Museum Exhibition
The Department of Latin American, Latino & Iberian Studies and University Museums asked custodial staff for their input on an exhibition by Latinx artist Jay Lynn Gomez focusing on the value of domestic workers. Staff shared their impressions on the art and its layout, and provided comments and opinions that were integrated into the exhibition’s educational initiatives, catalogue, and informational panels.
“Collaborating with facilities employees offered an opportunity for talking about the vital energy involved in a work that implies much more than keeping up cleanliness and beauty of physical spaces, and for exploring the meanings of work and working time,” said exhibition co-curator Karina Vázquez, director of UR’s Spanish Community-Based Learning Program.
Faculty Highlights
![Dr. Elizabeth Kissling](/_common_KP3/images/faculty-staff-bio/as/large/kissling_elizabeth.jpg)
Elizabeth Kissling, associate professor of Spanish and applied linguistics, published “Can Concept-based Language Instruction Change Beginning Learners’ Aspectual Development?: Preliminary Experimental Evidence that Novice Learners Taught Boundedness Are Less Influenced by Lexical Aspect” in Jalda.
View Bio![Dr. Sharon G. Feldman](/_common_KP3/images/faculty-staff-bio/as/large/feldman_sharon.jpg)
Sharon G. Feldman, William Judson Gaines Chair in Modern Foreign Languages, attended the staged reading of her English language translation of The Nicest Body Ever Seen Around These Parts (2021) by Catalan playwright Josep Maria Miró, directed by Jay Stull and performed by actor David Skeist at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center at the CUNY Graduate Center. The event, the culmination of Miró’s three-week residency in New York City, was produced by The Play Company, with the collaboration of the Institut Ramon Llull and the Sala Beckett (Barcelona).
View Bio![Dr. David Giancaspro](/_common_KP3/images/faculty-staff-bio/as/large/giancaspro_david.jpg)
David Giancaspro was awarded tenure and promotion to associate professor of Spanish. Dr. Giancaspro's research focuses on heritage language, specifically linguistic heritage bilingualism and the acquisition of third languages.
View Bio![Dr. Jannette Amaral-Rodriguez](/_common_KP3/images/faculty-staff-bio/as/large/amaral-rodriguez_jannette.jpg)
Janette Amaral-Rodriguez was awarded tenure and promotion to associate professor of Spanish. Dr. Amaral-Rodriguez's research focuses on colonial-era Latin American literature and culture with a specific emphasis on sixteenth-century Mexico, and she publishes in both Spanish andEnglish.
View BioScholarship Repository Readership
The University of Richmond's Scholarship Repository shares faculty publications with a world-wide audience. The map below shows where articles from LALIS faculty are being read around the globe.
Contact Information
Mailing Address:
Department of Latin American, Latino, and Iberian Studies
University of Richmond
211 Richmond Way
Carole Weinstein International Center
University of Richmond, VA 23173
Phone: (804) 484-1543
Fax: (804) 484-1544
Department Chair: Dr. Elizabeth Kissling
Academic Administrative Coordinator: Sarah Helen Studebaker
Director of Community-Based Learning: Dr. Karina Vazquez
Director of Spanish Intensive Language Program: Mr. Ted Peebles