Uju Anya

Uju Anya is an Associate Professor in the Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics at Carnegie Mellon University's Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Her research focuses on critical applied linguistics, examining how race, gender, and class intersect in second language acquisition. She holds a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from UCLA, an M.A. in Brazilian Studies from Brown University, and a B.A. in Romance Languages from Dartmouth College.

Her groundbreaking work explores multilingualism through a social justice lens, particularly the experiences of Black students in language learning. Her 2017 book Racialized identities in second language learning won the 2019 American Association for Applied Linguistics First Book Award. She co-edited Racial equity on college campuses (2021) and has published widely on critical race pedagogy, translanguaging, and anti-racist curriculum design.

Professor Anya has received multiple teaching awards including the Penn State College of Education Outstanding Teaching Award (2020) and USC Rossier School of Education Mentoring Award (2015). She actively collaborates with institutions like HBCUs to improve language education accessibility for Black learners, and her work frequently intersects with Hip Hop culture and Afro-Latina identity studies.

Her current projects include developing task-based Spanish curricula to combat anti-Blackness in education and advising initiatives to diversify language educator demographics. She serves as a leading voice in global efforts to integrate racial equity into language program administration and study abroad programs.