Doris Meyer, Roman S. & Tatiana Weller emerita professor of Hispanic studies, passed away Feb. 2, 2022 in Scottsdale, Arizona. She taught at Connecticut College for 12 years, from 1986–1998.
Born in 1942 in Summit, N.J., she received a bachelor’s degree in Romance languages from Harvard University in 1963 and a master’s and Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Virginia. She worked at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington as an assistant professor of Spanish from 1967–69 and at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York from 1969–1986 as an instructor and professor of Spanish.
During her tenure at Connecticut College, she served as Hispanic Studies department chair for eight and a half years. In addition to her teaching and scholarship, she directed the National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship Program for Foreign Language Teachers K-12 from 1988-1993. The fellowship program was based at Conn and allowed K-12 teachers to spend six weeks abroad developing an in-depth understanding of foreign languages and culture.
At Conn, her leadership led to a collaboration of all foreign language departments in workshops for American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) training in the oral proficiency approach. This training produced a nationally recognized ranking for foreign language speakers. Students continue to use their ACTFL ranking professionally through CISLA and awards by Foreign Language departments. She advocated for foreign language instruction as the College’s representative at the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages, arranging for its annual meeting to be held at Connecticut College in 1991. She encouraged the creation of special topics courses across Peninsular, Latin American and Latino literatures. Fluent in French and Spanish. She also temporarily served as chair of the French department.
A prolific writer, she was the author of “Traditionalism in the Works of Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas,” and the co-translator of “Cartucho” and “My Mother’s Hands, 1988.” Traveling widely and working with archives and the authors, she published works on Argentine author Victoria Ocampo and anthologies of Latin American female writers that instantly became the classic texts academics and students used nationwide.
Hanna Hafkesbrink Professor of Hispanic Studies Julia Kushigian writes: “As a colleague, Doris Meyer was one of the strongest, most significant and compelling literary scholars it has been my pleasure to work with over the years. She will always be remembered for that rare combination of intellectual curiosity and generosity in Academia that rewards excellence and kindness. She will be sorely missed for her wit, enthusiasm, inspiration and global understanding of how knowledge is constructed and valued."
She is survived by her husband Richard Hertz.