Dr. Terrell Morgan, Co-Director

Dr. Morgan is Professor of Hispanic Linguistics and Director of CLAS at Ohio State. As founder and director of Ohio State’s annual Summer Seminars Abroad for Spanish Teachers (SSAST), he has taken 25 groups of K-12 teachers to the Spanish-speaking world since 1991. Dr. Morgan established SSAST to introduce educators to both Hispanic linguistics and less-commonly taught languages in immersion contexts. Academically, Dr. Morgan is a phonologist and dialectologist interested in documenting linguistic diversity and finding new ways to put students, teachers, and fellow researchers in touch with the intimate details of the sounds and structures of Latin American languages.

He is an active supporter of efforts to internationalize the curriculum and provide teacher training opportunities at the K-12 level. Author of Sonidos en contexto: Una introducción a la fonética del español con especial referencia a la vida real (Yale, 2010), Dr. Morgan completed his Ph.D. in Spanish Linguistics at the University of Texas at Austin. He has taught and carried out research in almost every country in Latin America, including Ecuador and Peru, as well as Hispanic communities in the United States. Morgan was named “Ohio Professor of the Year” by the Carnegie Foundation, and has been the recipient of many other awards for teaching and service.He will be primarily responsible for organizing the pre-departure orientation and overseeing the evaluation process before, during, and after the travel period.

Dr. Michelle Wibbelsman, Co-Director

Dr. Wibbelsman is Assistant Professor in Latin American Indigenous Cultures at Ohio State. Originally from Ecuador, her areas of specialization include South American indigenous cultures, ethnographic studies and ethnomusicology. Dr. Wibbelsman has been working in Andean Ecuador since 1995, focusing on symbolic and semiotic analytical approaches to indigenous performances, ritual practices and politics. She is leading the development of the Andean and Amazonian Studies program at Ohio State, including the creation of the program framework, course curriculum, and outreach efforts. Dr. Wibbelsman is also a co-coordinator of the CLAS Working Group, “Continuity and Change in the Andes & Amazonia”, a research group designed to galvanize academic activities for graduate programs.

Academically, Dr. Wibbelsman’s current research explores indigenous transnational migration, diaspora and cosmopolitanism. She is an active supporter of incorporating the use of material culture in the classroom and implementing learning methods across a range of language and culture courses. Author of Ritual Encounters: Otavalan Modern and Mythic Community (University of Illinois Press, 2009), Dr. Wibbelsman completed her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She will serve as the lead faculty instructor during the overseas portion of the trip, and will lead all instructional efforts by creating the course curriculum, delivering lectures in-country, and organizing the overseas travel itinerary.

Megan Hasting, Project Manager

Megan Hasting is Assistant Director for CLAS and oversees outreach activities, coordinates the development of programming and workshops, and is familiar with national and state standards of teacher training education.She previously served as the Program Coordinator at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies, and before her time at the Mershon Center, Megan worked as an independent contractor for the State of Ohio, working primarily with the Ohio Commission on Hispanic and Latino Affairs on their public policy resource center.

She holds two M.A. degrees in Public Policy and Management and Latin American Studies, both from The Ohio State University. While in graduate school, Megan conducted research on indigenous social movements throughout the Sacred Valley in Peru. Megan will offer support and management of the project and will serve as staff manager, assisting with the selection of participants, organization of the pre-departure orientation, and evaluation efforts.