Faculty & Staff

Dr. Ciller is an Assistant Professor of Translation in the Department of Writing and Language Studies and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona. His research focuses on translation pedagogy, language learning and teaching, and program administration. He specializes in exploring pedagogies for developing language and translation skills. Additionally, he has investigated language attitudes within the field of sociolinguistics.

Degrees

• Ph.D. in Spanish – Dissertation in Translation and Language Teaching (The University of Arizona, United states)
• M.A. in TESOL & Spanish (West Virginia University, United States)
• M.A. in Secondary Education: Foreign Language Teaching (The University of Murcia, Spain)
• B.A. in English (The University of Murcia, Spain)

CV/VITAE:  Dr. Julio Ciller

Dr. José Dávila-Montes, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, is a Full Professor of Translation and Interpreting and the founder of the legacy Translation and Interpreting Office in 2005.

He studied in Barcelona Autonomous University (Barcelona, Spain), where he obtained his BA + MA in Translation and Interpreting and a PhD in Translation and Cross-Cultural Studies. He also studied in Dublin City University (Dublin, Ireland), Toyo University (Tokyo, Japan), and the State University of New York at Binghamton (New York), where he obtained an MA in Spanish Literature.

In the past, he coordinated a fully online MA program in Audiovisual Translation by the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. He also taught Translation, Interpreting, Spanish, and Japanese Language since 1999 in Barcelona Autonomous University (Spain), State University of New York at Binghamton (USA), Dublin City University (Ireland), and Hunter College of New York (USA).  

Before becoming a full-time professor, he worked for over a decade as a professional translator, interpreter, localization project manager, editor, and project director for a number of publishing houses, producing encyclopedias, dictionaries and other reference works, multimedia products and language courses, and being involved in the publishing of over 150 titles and tens of thousands of pages.

Degrees

• PhD in Translation and Cross-Cultural Studies (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain)
• MA in Spanish Literature (State University of New York at Binghamton, United States)
• BA & MA in Spanish, English and Japanese Translation and Interpreting (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain)

CV/VITAE:  Dr. José Dávila-Montes

Dr. Fresno Cañada, Associate Professor, is the Executive Consultant of the Translation & Interpreting Office in the areas of Translation Technologies and Audiovisual Translation. She holds a BA in Translation and Interpreting, an MA in Comparative Literature and Literary Translation, and a PhD which focuses in Audiovisual Translation. She is the former Director of UTRGV's Translation and Interpreting Programs.

Before joining UTRGV, she taught Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility at several universities in Spain, where she also worked as a freelance translator and audio describer. At UTRGV, she teaches Translation Theory, Translation Technologies, Literary Translation, Medical Terminology, Interpreting, and Audiovisual Translation.

Her research interests include Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility, mainly Subtitling, Closed Captioning, and Audio Description (accessibility for the Blind and Visually Impaired). She has delivered communications at national and international conferences and her research has been published in some of the most relevant T&I journals and books.

Degrees

• PhD in Translation and Cross-cultural Studies (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain)
• MA in Comparative Literature and Literary Translation (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain)
• MA in Audiovisual Translation (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain)
• BA + MA in Translation and Interpreting (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain)

CV/VITAE: Dr. Nazaret Fresno Cañada

Dr. González Núñez is a Full Professor of Translation. He is currently serving as Director of UTRGV's Translation and Interpreting Programs and he is also the Executive Consultant of the Translation & Interpreting Office in the areas of Legal and Institutional Translation and Interpreting.

He holds a BA in Spanish Translation, a JD, an MA in Translation and Intercultural Studies, and a PhD in Translation Studies. At KU Leuven (Catholic University of Leuven), he was a Marie Curie Actions Fellow who carried out research into the role of translation policy in the integration of linguistic minorities.

Before obtaining his PhD, he was adjunct faculty at Brigham Young University, where he taught Spanish translation and Spanish grammar, and at Utah Valley University, where he taught Spanish grammar. At UTRGV he teaches different translation and interpreting courses. Additionally, he has published books and articles with highly reputable journals and publishers in the field.

During what little spare time he has, he engages in creative writing in Spanish. He has published books for children, poetry, and short stories.

He has also worked as a lawyer, translator, interpreter, language teacher, and sports broadcaster. Additionally, he has in the past volunteered for a number of non-profit organizations. He was born in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Degrees

• PhD in Translation Studies (KU Leuven, Belgium)
• MA in Translation and Intercultural Studies (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Spain)
• JD in law (Brigham Young University, United States)
• BA in Spanish Translation (Brigham Young University, United States)

CV/VITAE: Dr. Gabriel González Núñez

Dorian G. Vázquez, M.A. is a Lecturer II for the Department of Writing and Language Studies and the Translation and Interpreting Programs at UTRGV.

He studied at the Instituto Tecnológico de Matamoros, México, where he obtained his BS in Civil Engineering. He also studied at The University of Texas at Brownsville, where he received a Master of Arts in Spanish Translation and Interpreting, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Spanish Translation.

At The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Mr. Vázquez worked as a Part-Time Assistant Translator and Interpreter for the Translation and Interpreting Office before becoming a Lecturer. In this capacity, he has taught Spanish and Medical Spanish courses, and he is currently teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Translation and Interpreting.

He is a Licensed Court Interpreter for the State of Texas, and he has worked as a freelance subcontracted interpreter at the Social Security Administration’s Office of Hearings Operations in Harlingen, Texas, where he provided English< >Spanish interpreting services for many years. Mr. Vázquez has also worked as a freelance subcontracted interpreter for the Department of Justice – Executive Office of Immigration Review in multiple locations.

Degrees

• MA in Spanish Translation and Interpreting (The University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College)
• Graduate Certificate in Spanish Translation (The University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College)
• BS in Civil Engineering (Instituto Tecnológico de Matamoros, Mexico)

CV/VITAE: Prof. Dorian Vázquez

Allison deFreese studied at the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned two master’s degrees: an MFA in Writing and an MA in English. She also studied at the University of Texas at Brownsville, where she earned an MA in Spanish Translation and Interpreting. Her translations include María Negroni's Elegy for Joseph Cornell, and her work has also appeared in Asymptote, Arkana, Borderlands, Crazyhorse, New England Review, New York Quarterly, and Waxwing. Additionally, Allison deFreese has been a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Literature Translation Fellow.

Degrees

• M.A. in Spanish Translation and Interpreting (University of Texas at Brownsville)
• M.A. in English (University of Texas at Austin)
• M.F.A. in Creative Writing (University of Texas at Austin)