The Department of Spanish and Portuguese is thrilled to recognize and congratulate Dr. Tania Leal on receiving the 2025 Chatfield Outstanding Untenured Researcher of the Year and Dr. Eliud Chuffe on receiving the 2025 Chatfield Impact Award! These COH Helen H. Chatfield awards are given to those whose work has made a measurable impact on those whom they serve.
Dr. Leal is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and received this award for her research over the past several years. When asked about her work, she said, “My research has explored how bilingual speakers make meaning in real time...a central goal of my work is to challenge narrow or deficit-based views of bilingualism.” She noted that one of the most meaningful parts of her career has come through mentoring students and creating a space where students and colleagues can collaborate and actively participate in research. She elaborated, saying, “Research, for me, is a shared enterprise—one that depends on close partnerships with students and colleagues across disciplines.” With intentions to help build scholarly communities outside of her research, Dr. Leal shared that she works to contribute via “...editorial work, conference leadership, and initiatives that support language programs and bilingualism, including here at our campus.”
Dr. Chuffe is the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. In this role, he has made a significant impact on the students, faculty, and all who are within his sphere of influence. He has found rewarding the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with students through direct engagement during departmental events, and through working with them in programs such as study abroad. He said that “Contributing to the ongoing development, assessment, and strategic reshaping of our undergraduate program has been a particularly meaningful and rewarding aspect of this role.” With the honors that come from winning this award, Dr. Chuffe continues to share his gratitude for all those who participate in creating the success that is found in the Department, including the “...faculty, lecturers, instructors, graduate teaching assistants, advisors, and staff,” as well as the “...undergraduate students, whose engagement, enthusiasm, and commitment to completing majors, minors, and, in many cases, double majors are central to the continued success and vitality of the program.”
We congratulate Dr. Leal and Dr. Chuffe for receiving these awards and recognize them for all they do in support of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. The honors that come with these awards are well deserved!