09/04/2026
Congratulations to Laura Hamman-Ortiz, who has been promoted to Associate Professor! Hamman-Ortiz joined the URI Feinstein College of Education in 2022 and serves as director of the Translanguaging Lab.
“Dr. Hamman-Ortiz is an applied linguist and scholar of bilingual education. Her scholarly works are prolific and provide evidence that is directly applicable to both policy and practice,” says Danielle Dennis, dean of the College of Education. “I am thrilled that she was promoted to associate professor and look forward to her continued leadership of the College's new Translanguaging Lab.”
Receiving tenure and promotion at URI “feels incredibly meaningful and energizing,” says Hamman-Ortiz. “I’m grateful for the colleagues, students, educators, and community partners who have shaped my work and challenged me to think more deeply about what equitable, multilingual education can look like. More than anything, this milestone gives me a sense of possibility—the opportunity to keep building collaborations, mentoring students and educators, and pursuing research that can make a meaningful difference in schools and communities.”
📸: 1-2 - In Krakow and with her Polish teacher; Hamman-Ortiz received a Demers Fellowship from the RI Foundation to study in Poland this summer, a step toward reclaiming her heritage language.
3 - In Bahrain this winter where she facilitated professional development on genre-based writing instruction for K-12 English teachers through the U.S. State Department English Language Specialist program.
4 - Receiving the 2026 URI Early Career Faculty Research and Scholarship Excellence Award for a faculty member in the Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities.
6 - With teachers she mentors as part of Project SEMBRAR: Sustaining Equity through Mentorship for Bilingual Teacher Recruitment and Retention, a $3.4 million National Professional Development grant aimed at increasing the number of certified bilingual teachers in New England and New Mexico.
6 - With the 2026 Finkelstein Lecture speaker Ofelia Garcia and Translanguaging Lab members.
7 - With Providence bilingual teachers launching a professional learning study on translanguaging pedagogy.
