Lillian Gorman

Dr. Lillian Gorman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Arizona and Director of the Spanish as a Heritage Language Program. She holds affiliations with the Second Language Teaching and Acquisition (SLAT), Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory (SCCT) Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs, and Global Studies. Her research focuses on language and identity in U.S. Latina/o/x communities, heritage language pedagogy, and bilingual education.

• Education: B.A./M.A. from University of New Mexico; Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies from University of Illinois at Chicago

Her interdisciplinary work examines intersections between language, culture, and social justice, with a focus on U.S.-Mexico border dynamics and Latina/o/x cultural production. Recent publications include her forthcoming book Zones of Encuentro (2024) and contributions to volumes on transnational encounters and bilingual youth.

Awarded the 2020 UNM Center for Regional Studies Scholar-in-Residence Award and 2024 UA Digital Borderlands Fellow, she actively promotes Latina/o/x representation in higher education through programs like the Spanish for Heritage Learners Nicaragua Immersion Program and collaborations with HACU and USDA Hispanic Serving Institutions Office.

Teaching includes courses on applied linguistics, heritage language pedagogy, and border studies. She has developed innovative bilingual teacher training programs across multiple institutions.