Fall 2026 Professional Development Series

I Am My Language: Roots, Rhythm, and Resistance

Dr. Krishauna Hines-Gaither

Saturday, October 10th, check-in at 9:45 a.m.

USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience (MCB)

About the speaker: Krishauna Hines-Gaither is the 2026 President of ACTLE, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives & Partnerships at Mount Saint Mary’s University, and co-author of The Antiracist World Language Classroom and Mastering Spanish through Global Debate.

This talk is co-sponsored by the Center for Languages and Cultures, the USC US-China Institute, the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, and the Chinese Language Teachers Association of Southern California.

Join us for a presentation by Dr. Krishauna Hines-Gaither, an award-winning educator, author, and

advocate.

Dr. Hines-Gaither brings nearly two decades of experience in world language education and a distinguished record of advancing equity, inclusion, and innovation in the field.

Dornsife Language Faculty Spotlight: Presentations by Recipients of the Language Teaching Innovation Grant

Date: Friday, October 30th, 11 a.m. 

Presenters: Hsiao-Yun Liao and Rania Ben Amor

Meeting ID: 980 1788 2477
Password: 096171

Dr. Felix Kronenberg

Friday, November 20th, 11 a.m.

About the speaker: Felix Kronenberg has collaborated with colleagues across the field on research and initiatives related to language program vitality and enrollment growth. His work includes the 2023 edited volume Language Program Vitality in the United States: From Surviving to Thriving in Higher Education, the Thriving Language Programs and Enrollments in Higher Education learning community, numerous workshops and presentations, and the article How important is studying languages for undergraduate students and why (not) study languages?, which won the Stephen A. Freeman award. The forthcoming open-access Guidebook to Thriving Language Programs: A Systematic and Practical Approach to Enrollment Work will be published in early 2027 with the Applied Linguistics Press.

The field of language education is undergoing profound changes, from seemingly continuous enrollment declines, increasing fiscal pressures, a changing funding landscape to rapidly evolving AI technologies. What are we to do as individual faculty, language programs, departments, centers, and schools? 

Drawing on the Thriving Language Programs framework, this talk explores how language educators can move beyond a mindset of survival and cultivate sustainable growth, resilience, and vitality. Rather than focusing solely on external challenges, the framework highlights practical, evidence-informed approaches that help programs strengthen enrollment, deepen student engagement, communicate their value, and create conditions for long-term success.

Participants will leave with a practical framework and actionable and adaptable strategies for strengthening enrollment, communicating program value, and building the conditions for long-term program vitality.

Meeting ID: 946 1283 6320

Password: 932175