Effective summer 2014, three outstanding faculty members of the Department of Hispanic Studies transitioned to new phases in their professional careers.

Dr. Herberto Espinoza, Associate Professor of Spanish, retired as Emeritus Faculty after 27 years of service to the College.  Model teacher, respected scholar and past Chair of the then-Department of Spanish and Italian from 1995-98, Professor Espinoza will now enjoy his retirement with family in South Carolina.

Professor Karen Berg, Senior Instructor of Spanish, also retired as Emeritus Faculty after 24 years teaching Spanish language and literature at the College.  Six years after joining the CofC faculty in 1990, she earned her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts.  Dr. Berg’s steadfast rigor in the classroom and loyal service to the College of Charleston will not be lost as she will return to teach two classes in the fall of 2014 as an adjunct instructor.

Finally, Dr. Benjamin Fraser, Associate Professor of Spanish, accepted a position as Professor and Chair of the Foreign Languages and Literatures Department at East Carolina University effective July 1, 2014.  A remarkably prolific scholar, an innovative teacher and a tireless editor of multiple journals, Professor Fraser will now lead his own academic department in Greenville, North Carolina.

We are grateful to the invaluable contributions of all three professors, and we wish them the best of luck during these next stages in their admirable careers.