The Center for Bilingual Studies (CBS) is an interdisciplinary unit under the Office for Bilingual Integration that brings together faculty from colleges across the university to collaborate on research that supports bilingual families and the communities in which they live. Directed by Dr. Christian E. Zúñiga, Associate Professor for the Department of Bilingual and Literacy Studies, CBS undertakes research projects that further our understanding of bilingualism as it expands into areas such as curriculum, educational policy, community engagement, and other facets of the bilingual experience. CBS has been instrumental in supporting and providing research presentations to bilingual educators across Texas and the nation, as well as engaging with the local community and schools for dual language program enrichment. CBS’ ongoing activities include partnering with other non-profit organizations to plan parent conferences, collect oral histories with influential leaders in bilingual education, support for local school districts for implementing quality bilingual education programs and provide professional development for internal and external educational entities.

The Center for Bilingual Studies (CBS) opened its offices during the Fall semester of 2012 under the leadership of Deans Hector Ochoa, Walter Díaz, Dahlia Guerra, Farzaneh Razzaghi, faculty members Drs. Francisco Guajardo, Amy Weimer and J. Joy Esquierdo.

In Fall 2016 CBS became one of the three centers part of the organization of the B3 Institute. The other two centers include the Center for Mexican American Studies and Translation & Interpreting Office.

Vision

As part of UTRGV’s vision to be a highly engaged bilingual university, the Center for Bilingual Studies (CBS) is an interdisciplinary unit that brings together faculty from Colleges across the University to collaborate on research that supports bilingual families and communities. CBS also partners with local schools to discuss and create action plans that address issues related to bilingual education and bilingualism as they impact children, schools, families, and communities of South Texas and beyond. CBS’s work supports UTRGV’s goal of becoming a bilingual university.

Mission

The mission of the Center for Bilingual Studies is to lead meaningful conversations and conduct research centered on issues of bilingualism as they impact children, schools, families, and communities of South Texas and beyond.

Goals

The Center for Bilingual Studies’ has two major goals:

• Engage families, students, and communities on issues important to the teaching, learning, and development process for bilingualism, biliteracy, and biculturalism.
• Collaborate on research projects that focus on the areas of bilingualism, biliteracy, and biculturalism, especially within Latinx communities.