Rio Grande Valley, Texas · October 14–16, 2026

Bilingualism in Higher Ed Summit Dos idiomas, un camino

The first inaugural working summit for faculty, program directors, and institutional leaders who are building bilingual higher education together.

La primera cumbre de trabajo para líderes académicos que construyen la educación bilingüe en la universidad.

100 participants max 2.5 days of deep work
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A working summit.

Una cumbre de trabajo.

The Bilingualism in Higher Ed Summit brings together a small, intentional group of higher education professionals who are actively developing bilingual programs, frameworks, and policies at their institutions.

Esta cumbre reúne a un grupo reducido e intencional de profesionales de educación superior que desarrollan activamente programas bilingües, marcos de trabajo y políticas en sus instituciones.

The format is designed with keynotes that inspire, panels that demonstrate real models, and a final day dedicated entirely to your institution's strategic planning.

100
Participants max
Máximo de participantes
2.5
Days together
Días juntos
1
Action plan per institution
Plan de acción por institución
Peer connections made
Conexiones entre pares
"Bilingualism is a resource to cultivate, rather than a challenge to overcome."
Summit Theme · Tema de la Cumbre "El bilingüismo es un recurso que cultivar, en lugar de un obstáculo que superar".

Participants leave with a curated resource workbook, access to a shared repository of resources, and — most importantly — a draft institutional action plan tailored to their own context.

Los participantes se llevan un cuaderno de recursos, acceso a un repositorio compartido y un plan de acción institucional para su propio contexto.

We welcome participants working across all language combinations (not only Spanish-English) including indigenous, heritage, and community languages.

Three days.
One path forward.

Tres días. Un camino común.

Schedule is tentative and subject to change. · El programa es provisional y está sujeto a cambios.

1
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Opening Evening
Noche de apertura — Contexto cultural
Evening
Arrival & Welcome
Welcome & context
Bienvenida y contextualización de la cumbre
Social
Dinner
Cultural Context Dinner — Hidalgo Pumphouse
Sponsored dinner · Cultural performance · Setting the stage for the Summit
Cena patrocinada con actuación cultural y apertura de la cumbre
Sponsored
2
Thursday, October 15, 2026
Full Conference Day
Día Completo de Conferencia
8:00 am
Registration & Light Breakfast
Networking · Coffee · Welcome
Registro y desayuno ligero
Arrival
8:30 am
Official Welcome
UTRGV President / Provost · Framing remarks · Summit goals
Bienvenida oficial · Rector o vicerrector de UTRGV
8:45 am
Keynote: Ana Valdez
Latino Donor Collaborative
Discurso inaugural · Latino Donor Collaborative
Keynote
9:45 am
Bilingualism in Higher Ed: Scholarship & Frameworks
Moving beyond ESL/remedial approaches · Research grounding · UTRGV & John Jay
Bilingüismo en la universidad: marcos teóricos y prácticos
Presentation
11:00 am
Faculty & Student Lightning Talks
Short spotlights from UTRGV faculty and students · Rapid-fire sharing
Presentaciones relámpago de docentes y estudiantes de UTRGV
Lightning Talks
12:30 pm
Lunch
Almuerzo
Break
1:30 pm
UTRGV Faculty & Student Research
Continued presentations and discussion
Investigación de docentes y estudiantes de UTRGV — continuación
Panel
2:15 pm
Panel: Universities in Action
Institutional models from across the country · Miami Dade College (Dean Magda Castineyra) · San Diego State University · Ana G. Méndez University · CUNY
Modelos institucionales · Miami Dade College (Decana Magda Castineyra) · SDSU · Ana G. Méndez · CUNY
Panel
3:30 pm
Closing Remarks
Clausura
Evening
Dinner on Your Own
Curated list of local RGV restaurants provided
Cena por cuenta propia — se incluirá una lista de restaurantes locales
Free Evening
3
Friday, October 16, 2026
Action Planning Half-Day
Medio Día de Planificación Estratégica
8:00 am
Light Breakfast
Desayuno ligero
Arrival
8:30 am
Student Panel: Bilingual Voices from Across Institutions
Students from participating universities share their lived experience of bilingual higher education
Panel estudiantil: voces bilingües de distintas instituciones
Student Panel
9:30 am
Keynote: Leading Organizational Change
Francisco Guajardo, Ph.D. — institutional change frameworks for language equity
Discurso: Liderando el cambio organizacional para la equidad lingüística
Keynote
10:30 am
Working Session: Build Your Institutional Action Plan
Institutional teams work together to draft next steps · Strategic planning tools provided · Facilitated discussion
Sesión de trabajo: los equipos institucionales construyen su plan de acción
Workshop
12:30 pm
Lunch & Closing Ceremony
Commitments · Farewell · Network building
Almuerzo y ceremonia de clausura
Closing

Scholars.
Practitioners.
Changemakers.

Académicos, profesionales, agentes de cambio.

The Summit brings together leading voices from bilingual higher education across the country — from flagship research universities to community colleges, from the Rio Grande Valley to New York City.

La cumbre reúne voces líderes de la educación superior bilingüe en todo el país — desde universidades de investigación hasta community colleges.

A
Ana Valdez
Keynote - Day 2
President and CEO of the Latino Donnor Collaborative, Inc.
✓ Confirmed
J
J. Joy Esquierdo, Ph.D.
Keynote — Day 2
Vice Provost fro Bilingual Integration, UT Rio Grande Valley
✓ Confirmed
F
Francisco Guajardo, Ph.D.
Keynote — Day 3
Organizational Change & Community Leadership
✓ Confirmed
C
Cristina Alfaro
Panelist — Day 2
San Diego State University
✓ Confirmed
M
Magda Castineyra
Panelist - Day 2
Miami Dade College
✓ Confirmed
M
Marla Franco
Panelist - Day 2
University of Arizona
✓ Confirmed
K
Katherine Christoffersen
Panelist - Day 2
UT Rio Grande Valley
✓ Confirmed
R
Rosemary Barberet
Panelist - Day 2
John Jay College - CUNY
✓ Confirmed
C
Cristina Lozano-Argüelles
Panelist - Day 2
John Jay College - CUNY
✓ Confirmed

Built for those building
bilingual higher education.

Diseñada para quienes construyen la educación superior bilingüe.

🎓

Faculty Leaders Docentes líderes

Professors, instructors, and researchers developing bilingual curricula, heritage language programs, or dual-language pathways at the postsecondary level in any language combination.

🏛️

Program Directors Directores de programas

Leaders of bilingual education programs, language departments, or centers for multilingual learning who are building or scaling institutional capacity.

📋

Administrators Administradores

Deans, provosts, and academic affairs leaders exploring institutional frameworks for language equity, Seal of Biliteracy recognition, or bilingual credentialing.

🌉

Advocates & Champions Defensores del bilingüismo

Individuals building the internal case for bilingual initiatives at institutions that are just beginning — your voice and your vision are needed here.

Attendance is capped at 100 and intentionally diverse across institutions, regions, and stages of bilingual program development. Registration is $220. Apply by August 3rd, 2026.
La asistencia está limitada a 100 participantes, con diversidad intencional entre instituciones y regiones. Envíe su propuesta antes del 3 de agosto de 2026.

Apply to Attend →
RGV
Rio Grande Valley · Texas
Donde el río habla dos idiomas

The most bilingual
region in America.

La región más bilingüe de los Estados Unidos.

The Rio Grande Valley breathes bilingualism. With over 90% of residents speaking Spanish at home and a centuries-old tradition of border culture, there is no better place to convene a summit on bilingualism.

El Valle del Río Grande respira bilingüismo, es el lugar ideal para esta cumbre.

🏛️
Host Institution: UTRGV The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Universidad de Texas de El Valle de Río Grande
📅
October 14–16, 2026 Wednesday evening through Friday midday Miércoles por la tarde hasta el mediodía del viernes
✈️
Nearest Airport: McAllen (MFE) Also served by Harlingen (HRL) · Houston & Dallas connections Aeropuerto alternativo: Harlingen (HRL) – Escalas en Houston y Dallas
🏨
Hotel Information Group hotel block details provided upon confirmation Los detalles relacionados con los hoteles se enviarán al confirmar asistencia