Steven Lownes

Background

About Steven Lownes

I work to bridge cultural and linguistic gaps by providing an array of services, including translation, consulting, policy development, and diversity training for the public and private sectors. I have also developed programming for universities to engage more fully with the communities they serve through experiential learning and teaching towards proficiency. I have over 17 years experience working in higher education on both the staff and faculty sides and have worked primarily in community engagement and outreach through service-learning courses. I am currently a tenured Associate Professor of World Languages at the University of SC Union. I teach Spanish, Portuguese, Latin American Studies, Comparative Literature and the Palmetto Courses including an experiential service-learning course, an internship course, South Carolina Studies, and the senior Capstone. I am also serving in the role of Chair of Faculty Senate. Previously, serving as the Assistant Director of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute, I administered the Title VI Department of Education National Resource Center and Foreign Language and Area Studies grants totaling $1.9 million at the University of Georgia. Through these grants, I worked with faculty, staff, and students to create activities and educational opportunities on the study of Latin America, the Caribbean, and their languages. I also coordinated grant activities that extended beyond the University of Georgia involving other universities, schools, and organizations in the aim to increase the study of Portuguese and Latin American studies at the K-16 levels.