Lori Catanzaro
Principal Senior Lecturer
Professor Lori Catanzaro, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, has taught a broad range of language courses at Vanderbilt including the service-learning based Spanish for the Medical Professions, Spanish for Business and Economics, and Spanish through Film at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. As Assistant Director of the Center for Latin American Studies, she also served as Director of the Center’s Outreach International Professional Development Institute, leading K-12 educators on a summer study program in the Dominican Republic in 2008. As Vanderbilt University’s Director of Study Abroad Programs, she was responsible for managing Vanderbilt student participation in over 45 study abroad programs. She also was Director of the Vanderbilt in Spain Program in Madrid. At the Owen Graduate School of Management, she directed the International Executive MBA Program in Miami and also served as Owen’s Director of International Programs. She has taught for The International Business Ethics Institute in Washington DC and at The American School of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Professor Catanzaro has lived in France, Spain, Argentina and the Dominican Republic, has travelled extensively through Latin America and has led executive study programs in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Cuba.
Honors
In 2023, Lori received the Dean's Distinguished Teaching Fellows Award for excellence in teaching effectiveness, imaginative and innovative teaching practices inside and outside the classroom, and extraordinary contributions in designing and advising undergraduate Immersion experiences.
In 2022, Lori received a Chancellor’s Office Grant for Vanderbilt’s Sesquicentennial for the creation of an interactive online digital timeline commemorating The History and Legacy of Study Abroad at Vanderbilt.
Lori was the recipient of a College of Arts and Science COVID-19 innovative teaching award in 2021 for faculty recognized for creating safe, productive, and engaging in-person learning environments.