UGA's Maíllo-Pozo earns national teaching award

University of Georgia faculty member Sharina Maíllo-Pozo has been awarded the Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP) 2025 Faculty Teaching Award. 

The CLASP Faculty Teaching Award recognizes excellence in teaching courses designated for Latin American Studies in which the recipient has demonstrated sustained accomplishment in outstanding teaching effectiveness, including pedagogical style and student success stories; contributions to the Latin American Studies program and involvement in the larger community, including professional organizations and an service activities; and the incorporation of the individual's academic research and field experiences into the classroom.

Maíllo-Pozo, associate professor in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of Romance Languages, serves as the Faculty Director of the Spanish Residential Community at Mary Lyndon Hall. She specializes in Latinx and Caribbean literature and culture, with a particular focus on the cultural production of the Dominican Republic and its diaspora in the United States. She was a Dominican Studies Fellow (2016-2017), Lilly Teaching Fellow (2019-2021), Willson Center for the Humanities Fellow (2020-2021), and UGA Teaching Academy Fellow (2022-2023). She is the author of Bridging Sonic Borders. Popular Music in Contemporary Dominican/Dominicanyork Literature (University of Texas Press, 2025), as well as numerous journal articles and reviews published in edited volumes.

"I am deeply honored to receive this national, interdisciplinary award recognizing excellence in teaching, community engagement, and professional service in Latin American Studies," Maíllo-Pozo said. "I’m especially grateful to my students, whose curiosity and humanity inspire me daily, and to my colleagues and mentors whose generous support has helped me continue growing as a professor and scholar. This recognition is as much theirs as it is mine."

The CLASP Faculty Teaching Award was open to early-career faculty from over thirty US institutions, with nominees representing the broad constellation of humanities and social sciences found in Latin American Studies programs. The award criteria sought documented excellence in teaching courses designated for Latin American Studies, with evidence of student success and the submission of sample course materials, in addition to demonstrated community engagement and professional service. 

Image: Sharina Maíllo-Pozo (photo credit: Wendy Muñiz and Guillermo Zouain, The Lightroom Athens)