C. Arturo Yáñez
Department Chair
TESOL Director
Associate Professor of Spanish
260-982-5374

Dr. C. Arturo Yáñez received his B.A. (Licentiate in Education) from the Universidad de Los Andes (Mérida, Venezuela) with majors in education and foreign language teaching. His M.Ed. is from the University fo Toronto (Ontario, Canada) where he specialized in curriculum design and foreign language education. His Ph.D. is from the University of Iowa (Iowa, USA) where he specilized in secondary education, Spanish linguistics and foreign language education. Before he came to Manchester University, Dr. Yáñez was a professor of Spanish and TESOL at the University of the Andes in Merida, Venezuela for 25 years and a visiting professor of Spanish and TESOL at Arkansas Tech University.

Dr. Yañez has published several refereed journal articles and two book chapters. His research is on the pedagogy of foreign languages, evaluation and writing across disciplines. The book chapter entitled "The Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians: Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education" has been widely cited by scholars in a number of disciplines in the USA and in Europe. He also published the book, Writing History: Instructional and Pedagogical Complexities.

As editor of the journal Entre Lenguas for the Universidad de Los Andes´ School of Modern Languages, he wrote and edited research-based articles on the best of pedagogical practices for teaching reading, writing, speaking and listening in a second or foreign language.

Dr. Yáñez has presented several research papers in different international conferences in Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Spain and in the United States. Dr. Yañez has taught many types of courses both in Spanish and English at both undergraduate and graduate levels and has traveled extensively in Spanish-speaking America and Europe.

He is an active member of NCTE, ACTFL and AATSP. Dr. Yáñez is an active foreign language Program Review Evaluator for ACTFL/NCATE and has received training as an ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interviewer (OPI).

Last but not least, Dr. Yáñez has a passion for fine art photography, national parks, orchids and sports. He is a percussionist and played congas professionally for salsa bands since he was twelve.

Janina P. Traxler
Professor Emerita of French

Dr. Traxler, Professor Emerita of French, retired in 2018 after 39 years on the Manchester faculty.   As an undergraduate at Manchester, she majored in French and math and received teacher certification for secondary education. She completed masters and doctoral degrees at Indiana University, focusing for her dissertation on the medieval French legend of Tristan.  While at Manchester, Dr. Traxler taught all levels of French, plus literature courses in English and the humanities.  She also led travel courses to France in January, served as BCA site director and as faculty in residence in Strasbourg, France, and taught English as a foreign expert teacher for a year in the People’s Republic of China.  In retirement, Dr. Traxler continues to conduct scholarship in the legend of King Arthur, both medieval and modern.  She is still seeking the grail, though she knows that it has been sighted in a Saint Louis pawn shop.