It is our pleasure to officially welcome our two most recent tenure-track hires to the Department of Modern Languages at K-State.
Fall 2015 will be Dr. Laura Valentín-Rivera’s first semester at K-State. Dr. Valentín-Rivera is originally from Cuernavaca, Morelos (México). She received her PhD from Texas Tech University in Spanish Linguistics in August, 2015. Some of her academic interests include literacy (especially Spanish heritage language learners’ writing skills) and collaboration mediated by social tools (i.e., Google Docs, Wikis, blogs). She is particularly excited about offering Spanish courses not only for undergraduate students, but also for graduate students. In her free time Dr. Valentín-Rivera enjoys CrossFit, traveling and learning about new cultures.
This Fall Semester will be the beginning of Dr. Pablo Martínez Diente’s second year at Kansas State University. Dr. Martínez Diente received his degree in English Philology from the University of Valladolid (2001), his M.A. in Foreign Languages from West Virginia University (2003) and his Ph.D. in Spanish from Vanderbilt University (2012). He has taught at WVU, Vanderbilt and The University of Notre Dame, in addition to a year teaching in northern Poland. His research interests range from peninsular poetry (particularly the novísimos), to global modernisms, translation and the interaction of film and poetry. Dr. Martínez Diente loves the friendly atmosphere and camaraderie of the Modern Languages Department. He describes it as a place where both students and faculty can develop their full potentials while enjoying a fruitful exchange of ideas.In his spare time, he devotes himself to his ever-increasing collection of books from all ages and languages.
If you are on campus, make sure to stop by and say hello! You can also leave a word of welcome in the comments section below.