Mercedes Vidal Tibbits

Dr. Mercedes Vidal Tibbits is a Professor in the Department of World Languages & Cultures at Howard University, where she has been since 1986. She holds a B.A. from the Universidad de Barcelona and a Ph.D. from Tulane University (1980). Her academic leadership includes roles such as Secretary of the Howard University Faculty Senate, Chair of the Editorial Board of The Senate Communicator, and Director of Graduate Studies in her department.

Her research focuses on 19th-century Spanish and Catalan literature, with groundbreaking work on African-descendant characters in Spanish plays and the novels of Narcís Oller. She founded and led Catalan Review (1986–2012), an international journal on Catalan culture, and served on the North American Catalan Society’s Executive Board.

Dr. Tibbits has organized study-abroad programs in Spain and contributed to university governance through roles in the Middle States Accreditation Self-Study Committee and the College of Arts and Sciences Executive Committee.

Her scholarly contributions include edited volumes like Studies in Honor of Gilbert Paolini and publications in journals such as Hispania, Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispánicos, and Crítica Hispánica.