Leah Fonder-Solano

Associate Professor of Spanish and Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures Chair PhD, University of Arizona, 1997

Liberal Arts Building
601-266-4964
Leah.fonder-solano@usm.edu

Leah Fonder-Solano has published numerous articles and book chapters on the subject of contemporary Latin American women writers, film, and Spanish language education. She is particularly interested in issues of identity, exile, and biculturalism in the writing of contemporary authors from the Caribbean and Spain. Her work in both literature and pedagogy has been cited by a growing number of researchers.

In recognition of her reputation as a scholar, in 2004 Dr. Fonder-Solano was invited to be session chair for the XI Congreso Internacional de Literatura Femenina Hispánica in Toronto, Canada. She regularly gives conference presentations in the fields of Hispanic letters, Community Service-Learning, Film, and Foreign Language Education. As Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Dr. Fonder-Solano is also committed to strengthening departmental programs and research, grant writing, and meeting the highest standards of accreditation. In 2008, Dr. Fonder-Solano played a leadership role in creating an introductory Arabic language course sequence and securing an IHL/NCAT grant for curricular redesign. That same year, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at USM became one of only six programs in the U.S. awarded "National Recognition" from the National Council on Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) for the Spanish and French licensure programs. Dr. Fonder-Solano continues to teach both undergraduate and graduate Spanish courses.