DEPARTMENT OF SPANISH & PORTUGUESE

Heather Colburn (PhD, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill) is a Professor of Instruction in Spanish. Heather earned her B.A. in English from the College of Wooster in Ohio and an M.A. in Spanish from Middlebury College. Her doctoral studies focused on Spanish American Literature, with her dissertation examining the role of ritual as satire in works by both Ramón del Valle-Inclán and Miguel Ángel Asturias. Since then, her research interests and professional experience have focused on program/curricular evaluation, design and implementation, as well as on effective second language learning methodologies and practices for a variety of proficiency levels.

With over 25 years’ experience teaching and coordinating courses for novice, intermediate and advanced (ACTFL) learners of Spanish at Northwestern, Heather currently teaches elementary and accelerated elementary courses. A 2001 winner of the WCAS Arts & Sciences Alumni Teaching Award, Heather has served in multiple administrative roles in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese and on numerous committees at Northwestern and beyond. When she’s not in the classroom, Heather is usually outdoors.