Megan Echevarría

A professional headshot of Megan Echevarria wearing a gray blazer posed in front of a window
  • Associate Director for Grants, Program Development and Global Internship Network (IEP), Director of the Spanish IEP
  • International Engineering Program
  • Phone: 401.874.4698
  • Email: mertxe@uri.edu
  • Office Location: Swan Hall 104
  • Website

Biography

Megan Echevarría is Professor of Spanish and Film/Media and Associate Director for Grants, Program Development, and the Global Internship Network in the International Engineering Program. In 2026, she returned to the role she previously held (2008–2014) as director of the Spanish International Engineering Program. Her work centers on advancing interdisciplinary humanities education, strengthening global engagement, and preparing students to become bilingual, ethical, agile, and interculturally competent professionals with satisfying careers.

Her teaching and program leadership integrate language pedagogy, Spanish for specific purposes, and the study of literature, film, and contemporary cultural issues across Spain and Latin America. She designs learning environments that support and challenge students while fostering critical thinking, developing ethical reasoning, expanding intercultural capacity, and requiring meaningful, active engagement with a variety of voices and narratives. In her administrative roles, she builds sustainable academic initiatives, cultivates international partnerships, and secures external funding that expands access to opportunity and drives innovation.

Echevarría collaborates with industry and academic partners in Spanish America and Spain to develop high‑impact international internship pathways that align with organizational goals, address tangible needs, and support holistic student development. She has negotiated internship agreements, drafted bilateral exchange partnerships in English and Spanish, and supported students through all stages of preparation, study abroad, international internship placement, and re‑entry to the US after these transformative experiences. These collaborations strengthen the program’s reputation as a reliable partner for organizations seeking bilingual, interculturally savvy engineering talent.

Her scholarship focuses on Hispanic literary, cultural, and film studies; language and literature education; and interdisciplinary approaches to global and intercultural learning. She edited Rehumanizing the Language Curriculum (Peter Lang, 2023), bringing together leading scholars to explore the central role of literature in innovative, human‑centered language education.

Beyond her teaching and research, Echevarría has contributed extensively to institutional leadership and shared governance, including service as NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative, President of the Faculty Senate, and member of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.

Research

  • Hispanic literary, cultural, and film studies
  • Language and literature education
  • Contemporary Spanish
  • Interdisciplinary education
  • International education
  • Spanish for specific purposes and professions

Education

  • Ph.D., Spanish Literature, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
  • Master of Arts, Spanish and Spanish-American Literature, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
  • Bachelor of Arts, International Studies & Spanish, University of Richmond, Virginia

Selected Publications

Echevarría, Megan M. and Iñaki Pérez-Ibáñez. “Humor and Intercultural Empathy: Teaching Comedic Films of Intercultural Encounter.” Ed. Beverly Hogue. Teaching Comedy (MLA Options for Teaching volume) MLA, 2023, pp. 55-63.

Echevarría, Megan M. (Ed). Rehumanizing the Language Curriculum. Peter Lang, 2023.

Echevarría, Megan M. “Reconcilable Differences.” Ed. Megan M. Echevarría. Rehumanizing the Language Curriculum. Peter Lang, 2023, pp. 1-10.

Echevarría, Megan M. “Scaffolding Literature Education in Communicative and Intercultural Context.” Ed. Megan M. Echevarría. Rehumanizing the Language Curriculum. Peter Lang, 2023, pp. 121-138.

Pérez-Ibáñez, Iñaki and Megan M. Echevarría. “Incarcerated Performance: The Space and Context of Prison as Stage.” Ed. Barbara Mújica. Staging and Stage Décor: Early Modern Spanish Theater. Vernon, 2022, pp. 57-74.

Echevarría, Megan M. “Entrevista con Hugo Medrano: Teatro clásico y compromiso multicultural.” Comedia Performance. Vol. 18.1 (2021) pp. 101-113.

Echevarría, Megan M. “A Comparative Analysis of Two Online Videoconferencing Initiatives for Conversational Practice with Native Speakers.” Teaching Language and Teaching Literature in Virtual Environments. Ed. María Luisa Carrió Pastor. Singapore: Springer, 2018, pp. 163-79.

Berka, Sigrid, Emily Ann Serman, Megan M. Echevarría, Lars O. Erickson, Silke A. Scholz, and Anette Geithner. “Integrating a Portfolio of Short with Long-term International Programs in the Engineering Curriculum.” 2015 ASEE International Forum, Seattle, Washington, 2015, June. ASEE Conferences.

Echevarría, Megan and Sigrid Berka. “Preparing Engineers for Global Challenges: Engaging with Chile through the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Initiative.” Proceedings from the 2014 ASEE Annual Conference International Forum. 2014, 20.30.1-20.30.9.

Echevarría, Megan. Letras literary reader for ¡Anda! Curso intermedio 2nd ed. Audrey L. Heining-Boynton, Jean LeLoup and Glynis S. Cowell. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2013.

Echevarría, Megan. ¡Anda! Student Activities Manual to accompany ¡Anda! Curso intermedio 2nd ed. by Audrey Heining-Boynton, Jean LeLoup and Glynis Cowell. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2013.

Echevarría, Megan. ¡Anda! Student Activities Manual to accompany ¡Anda! Curso elemental 2nd ed. by Audrey Heining-Boynton and Glynis Cowell. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2013.

Echevarría, Megan. Letras literary reader for ¡Anda! Curso intermedio 1st ed. Audrey L. Heining-Boynton, Jean LeLoup and Glynis S. Cowell. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2010.

Heining-Boynton, Audrey, Glynis S. Cowell and Jean LeLoup with Megan M. Echevarría, María del Carmen Caña Jiménez and Antonio Gragera. ¡Anda! Curso intermedio. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2010.

Echevarría, Megan. “La representación del exilio republicano en la serie El exilio y la Segunda Guerra Mundial de Virgilio Botella Pastor.” Letras Peninsulares Vol 22.2 (2010) 21-35.

Echevarría Megan and Ignacio Pérez-Ibáñez. “La presencia de la muerte en El lápiz del carpintero de Manuel Rivas.” Ed. Ricardo de la Fuente Ballesteros & Jesús Pérez Magallón. Necrofilia y necrofobia: representaciones de la muerte en la literatura hispánica. Universitas Castellae Press, 2010, pp. 65-74.

Echevarría, Megan. ¡Anda! Student Activities Manual to accompany ¡Anda! Curso elemental 1st ed. by Audrey Heining-Boynton and Glynis Cowell. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2009.

Selected courses taught

  • Modern Spanish narrative
  • ¡¡¡GOOOL!!! Soccer literature and culture across the Hispanic world
  • Microtheater. Textual analysis, creative writing and performance
  • Introduction to literary genres and literary analysis
  • Hispanic voices of diversity and inclusion
  • Innovations in sustainability in the Hispanic world
  • Spanish for business and technology
  • Spanish for pharmacists
  • Intercultural encounter in Latin American and Spanish film
  • Revolution and Hispanic film
  • The Spanish Civil War in film

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    Selected roles in stewardship and leadership

  • Associate Director for Grants, Program Development and Global Internship Network for the International Engineering Program (2026-present)
  • Director, Spanish International Engineering Program (2026-present)
  • Director, University of Rhode Island Research Foundation Board of Directors (2023-present)
  • MLA Delegate Assembly, Academic Labor and the Profession seat (2022-2025)
  • NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative and Chair of Athletics Advisory Board (2021-2024)
  • Faculty Senate Executive Committee (2019-2021; 2022-2024)
  • Chair of Faculty Senate Constitution, By-Laws and University Manual Committee (2022-2023)
  • President, Faculty Senate (2020-2021)
  • Section Head, Spanish Program (2018-2021)
  • Chair, Departmental Proficiency Implementation Committee (2017-2018)
  • Chair, Departmental Strategic Planning Committee (2016-2017)
  • Director, Spanish International Engineering Program (2008-2014)
  • Chair, Academic Affairs Global Education Task Force (2010)
  • Coordinator, Beginning and Intermediate Spanish Program (2004-2008)

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    Selected grants, awards and honors

  • Co-Principal Investigator: “A New Model for Integrated Humanities and Engineering Education” (Principal Investigator: Sigrid Berka) National Endowment for the
  • Humanities grant in the Humanities Connections program (2023-2025)
  • Innovation and Entrepreneurship Faculty Fellow, RISE-UP (Resilient, Innovative, Sustainable Economies via University Partnerships), United States Office of Naval Research (2024)
  • Project Completion Grant, URI Division of Research and Economic Development (2023)
  • Global Mobility Award, URI Global (2023)
  • President David M. Dooley and Reverend Lynn Baker Dooley Senate Faculty Award (2021)
  • Career Enhancement Grant, URI Division of Research and Economic Development (2021)
  • Consultant on interdisciplinary competitive grant “URI Preschool Development Grant” (Co-Principal Investigators: Sue Adams and Jessica MacLeod), State of Rhode Island Department of Health and Human Services (2019)
  • Principal Investigator: “Launching the Spanish International Engineering Program in Chile,” 100K Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund Grant inaugurating President Obama’s 100,000 Strong in the Americas Initiative (2014)
  • Students’ Undergraduate Teaching Award, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (2004)
  • Other award nominations: URI Foundation University Teaching Award (2010, 2018), Faculty Excellence Diversity Award (2008, 2010, 2015), and College of Arts & Sciences Mentoring Award (2008)