Luziris Pineda Turi is a first-generation Latinx academic with a Ph.D. in U.S. Latinx Literature from the University of Houston with certificates in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and the Cornell School of Criticism & Theory. Their teaching experiences include courses on Spanish and Gender Studies at the University of Houston, UH-Downtown, and Lonestar College while working as an archivist at the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project.

Their research interests include Pedagogy for Spanish for Medical Professions, DEI in the Language Classroom, Second Language Acquisition, and Leadership & Higher Ed. Administration. At Rice, they are recipients of the CLIC Summer Technology Grant, two Brown Teaching Grants, and the Excellence in Academic Advising Award. In addition, they are pursuing a Master’s in Higher Ed. Administration and are a part of the Subgroup of Undergraduate Medical Spanish for the Medical Spanish Taskforce.

Most recently, they were chosen for the inaugural cohort of instructors for the Critical Dialogues on Diversity by the Vice-Provost of DEI. Luziris is a trained GLTBQ+ ally, SAFE advocate, and Student Success Initiatives’ Rice Firsts network supporter. Their goal is to continue advocating for underrepresented students and colleagues by promoting equity and inclusivity in academic practices.