Melanie Waters, Director of Introductory Spanish Language for the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, is one of three persons selected by an awards committee to receive the LAS (College of Liberal Arts & Sciences) Academic Professional Award.

The recognition comes with a $1,000 award and a $1,000 salary increment supported by donations from LAS alumni.

During Melanie’s time with the department, she has developed several new courses and has been instrumental in developing new curricula for hybrid and online language classes. With more than 1,500 students in the program, a colleague wrote, “no one has been more central to our department’s ability to run this operation over the years than Melanie Waters.”

Melanie is one of seven staff and academic professionals who will be recognized in a virtual ceremony to take place in March for outstanding contributions to the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences in 2020-21.

“This year’s award winners have made invaluable contributions to their units, colleagues, and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences as a whole,” said Gene Robinson, interim dean of the College of LAS and Swanlund Chair in Entomology. “Their energy and dedication have been critical to everything from day-to-day operations to fulfilling the long-term goals of the college. We are pleased and fortunate to have them in our midst.”

Congratulations, Melanie!