Isabel Dulfano to Be Honored as a 2017 Beacons of Excellence Winner

Isabel Dulfano, Associate Professor in World Languages & Cultures, will be honored as one of seven 2017 Beacons of Excellence at the University of Utah. The goal of the Beacons of Excellence Award is to recognize some of the practices on our campus that make an educational experience a transformative one for students.

“Receiving this Beacons of Excellence award for my contributions in the classroom and beyond means the world to me,” said Dulfano. “When students take the time to acknowledge our efforts and even feel that it is transformative in their lives, then we know we have done something important to contribute to the well-being of our institution, community and planet.”

Dulfano teaches classes on Indigenous Peoples from a multidisciplinary perspective. “Given the global challenges we all face, listening to other perspectives is crucial for humanity to move forward with respect, mindfulness, sustainability-centered solutions and urgency,” she said.
“In my business online classes I try to have the students learn basic business concepts and terminology in Spanish while examining contemporary issues of intercultural and geo-economic scope. We focus on the sustainability of business practices and the impact of commercial enterprise in the Latin American region on the environment, culture, society, and politics.”

Dulfano’s current research focuses on Indigenous activist women's autoethnography and expression of their lives and challenges. She has interviewed Mapuche, Kichwa, Quiché, Mam, and many other Indigenous women from the South in an attempt to disseminate their voices and activities to the English-speaking world. The second half of this project involves interviews with Native American women.