The College of Arts and Sciences at University of Oregon invites the campus community to attend an upcoming talk by Dr. Rachel Showstack titled “Advancing Latinx Health through Interdisciplinary Partnerships, Community Engagement, and Applied Learning.”
The talk will take place on Friday, May 22, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. in Erb Memorial Union 023, Lease Crutcher Lewis Room. Light refreshments and food will be provided.
This event is part of a broader initiative supported by a CAS Diversity Grant, which aims to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion by fostering interdisciplinary collaboration around issues impacting Latinx communities, particularly at the intersection of language, health, and access to care. Through this grant, faculty are exploring the potential of Latinx Health as a future programmatic focus within the Department of Romance Languages and the School of Global Studies and Languages. The initiative seeks to build connections across the humanities, social sciences, and health-related fields while creating new curricular pathways that link Spanish language study to professional and community-based applications.
Dr. Showstack’s visit is a key component of this effort. Her work highlights how language programs can collaborate with community and institutional partners to support equitable healthcare access for multilingual populations. Her talk will also explore how interdisciplinary and community-engaged approaches can create meaningful applied learning opportunities for students while contributing to broader efforts toward health equity.
This talk will be of particular interest to students pursuing Spanish alongside health-related fields, including pre-med, public health, psychology, and human physiology, as well as faculty and graduate students interested in applied linguistics, community engagement, and interdisciplinary teaching. All who are interested in issues of language, equity, and access in Latinx communities are encouraged to attend.
Community members are invited to join this important conversation and help continue building connections across programs and disciplines at the University of Oregon.