The Center for Regional Studies (CRS) at the University of New Mexico has announced Damián Vergara Wilson as its new director. Vergara Wilson, who holds a Ph.D. in Spanish & Portuguese and Hispanic Linguistics from UNM, brings extensive experience in language research and education.
Vergara Wilson has led the Spanish as a Heritage Language (SHL) program at UNM since 2009. “I have had the honor of directing the Spanish as a Heritage Language program in our department since 2009 and we have done many amazing things. Our Spanish as a Heritage Language (SHL) program is a maintenance and revitalization effort that sends our students the message that the way our communities speak should be valued and preserved. What your grandparents say is correct,” Vergara Wilson said.
The SHL program has made an impact nationally through scholarship produced by Vergara Wilson, which has resulted in invitations to speak at conferences and events. He is scheduled to deliver a plenary address at the fifth International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages hosted by the National Heritage Language Resource Center in Los Angeles next February.
His sociolinguistic research on SHL has also enabled him to serve as an expert witness on language matters in both federal and district courts. In addition to numerous articles, he is the solo author of one book and co-author of another focused on SHL, published in 2024. Since 2020, he has been associate editor of the Spanish as a Heritage Language Journal.
Vergara Wilson’s recent research efforts include work to preserve a unique dialect of Spanish found only in New Mexico, which has received media attention.
He plans to use his background to guide CRS’s mission: “The mission of the CRS is to promote efforts to generate and retrieve knowledge about different aspects of communities in New Mexico and the Southwest.”
“We do this by supporting research, educational efforts, internships, and other efforts that focus on local communities,” said Vergara Wilson. “We take a broad view and support a spectrum of work that may focus on things such as environmental issues, archival work, investigations into our history, questions about language and indigenous educational efforts. We even support artistic endeavors that coincide with our mission. One of the cornerstones of our mission is to showcase the work we do through public presentations and through our website.”
One priority for Vergara Wilson as director is developing initiatives that involve undergraduate students in research alongside faculty mentors. “We are excellent at funding graduate students and faculty but need to expend our efforts to get undergraduates excited about the research we do at UNM through hands-on opportunities,” he said.
He also hopes CRS will expand educational programs for maintaining New Mexican Spanish varieties by building publicly available resources with transcribed video narratives in Spanish accompanied by curricular materials.
Additionally, he aims to continue supporting Indigenous education materials through projects like the Native Curriculum Partnership, which will host a workshop this fall for local high school teachers and students. “Our amazing documentary filmmaker, Arcie Chapa, is creating documentary films on Native education and artists that can serve as the basis for curriculum,” Vergara Wilson said.
These documentaries will be available both online and in person along with other CRS productions such as “Acequias: The Legacy Lives On.” The center encourages those interested to check its website for upcoming presentations on funded scholarship and related events.
