The Department of Modern and Classical Languages, and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese have a number of great educators who have a strong record in teaching and are serving the institution at different levels.

Lara DeBlois, program specialist of MCL , and Alfonso Hernandez-Linos, program specialist of Spanish and Portuguese,  serve as as the department’s first and main point of contact for students, faculty, staff, and the public. They also serve as the subordinate or stand-in department head for the purposes of advisement, budget tracking, and management, on- and off-campus functions in recruiting, study abroad, and liaison/spokesperson in a demanding, complex, and culturally diverse department.

In the Modern and Classical Languages Dept. curriculum committee, Mr. Awad Awad, lecturer in Arabic, Ms. Jessica Cappellini, lecturer in Italian, and Dr. Tianyu Qin, Assistant Professor in Chinese, serve for the year of 2019-2020.

Dr. Juman Al Bukhari is the dept. representative on the Faculty Senate serving for academic years 2019-2021. Dr. Al Bukhari also serves on the ACE Internationalization Steering Committee for 18 months August 2019-May 2021, and appointed by The Leadership and Appointments Committee, Juman joined the Technology Committee and started service in August 2019. Juman is also a member in the Gender Studies Council. In addition, Dr. Al Bukhari is the director of the newly-established Jordan Study Abroad Program, and she runs our PR including UNG Languages blog and our social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Finally, Dr. Al Bukhari serves as the Chair of the Technology Committee, Spring 2020-Spring 2021.

Dr. Irina Avkhimovich, Assistant Professor in Russian, serves as the department representative on the College of Arts and Letters Curriculum Committee, for two years, 2019-2021. Dr. Avkhimovich’s service on the A&L Committee is duly noted.

Dr. Jiyoung Daniel, Associate Professor in Korean, is the other dept. representative at the Faculty Senate serving for one academic year, 2019-2020.

Dr. Olivier Le Blond, Assistant Professor in French, serves in the Gender Studies Council. For academic years 2019-2021, following the Leadership Appointment Committee faculty placements, he will serve in the Student Conduct Committee. He is also a part of the Safe Zone Committee that organizes Safe Zone Trainings on UNG campuses. Finally, he will help in the ACE Internationalization Committee as part of the Faculty Policies and Procedures workgroup.

Dr. Yunjuan He started working in the Faculty Affairs Committee and will continue to serve in the committee until spring 2020.

Dr. Brian Mann, Modern languages dept. head, serves on the Academic Affairs Committee as a Department Head, and he serves on the Department Leadership Group.

In the Spanish and Portuguese Department, several faculty members were appointed to or are working in different committees; Dr. Elizabeth Combier, Spanish & Portuguese Dept. head, serves on the Academic Affairs Committee as a Department Head, as well as on the Department Leadership Group. She is also the Faculty Ombudsman for the Dahlonega campus. Also, Dr. Combier service in the Education Abroad Working Group under the UNG Internationalization Committee.

Dr. Maria Calatayud, Associate Professor in Spanish on the Gainesville campus, serves as one of the Honors Committee members. Her appointment will run until spring 2021.

Mr. David Hair, Interim Director of the Language Labs, serves in Faculty Senate (at Large).

Dr. Kristi Hislope, Professor in Spanish on the Dahlonega campus, serves as the representative of the Dept. of Spanish and Portuguese at the University Faculty Senate. She also serves in the Student Conduct Committee and will end her term in this committee spring 2020. Dr. Hislope is the Chair of the General Education Area B ad hoc committee, member in the Students Conduct Committee, Co-chair of the Promotion and Tenure Committee, and the Assessment Coordinator of the Dept. of Spanish and Portuguese.

Mr. Joseph Lavalle, on the Oconee campus, started serving in the Student Conduct committee and will be a part of it until spring 2021. He has also worked in the American Democracy Project and Constitution Committee, and his term will end spring 2020.

Dr. Ary Malaver, Assistant Professor in Spanish on the Gainesville campus, is a member of the Technology Committee. His term started fall 2018 and will run until spring 2020.

Dr. Joshua Martin, Assistant Professor in Spanish on the Dahlonega campus, serves as the chair of the Gender Studies Council. He is also part of the Student Conduct Committee for academic years 2019-2021.

Dr. Ken Martin, Assistant Professor in Spanish on the Oconee campus, is also a member of the Student Conduct Committee. His appointment will run until spring 2021.

Dr. Rosaria Meek, Assistant Professor in Spanish on the Oconee campus, has been a part of the Student Conduct Committee since fall 2018 and will finish her term in spring 2020. She just started her term as a member of the Student Honors Committee, and will serve in this committee until spring 2021.

Dr. Joseph Pecorelli, Assistant Professor in Portuguese on the Gainesville and Dahlonega campuses, was appointed to the Student Grade Appeal Committee. His term will run until spring 2021.

Congratulations for the hard work and good luck to All.