UC Faculty Awards 2020: Maria I. Ortiz
UC Blue Ash professor honored with Cohen Award for Excellence in Teaching
Professor Ortiz leads a Spanish class at UC Blue Ash College.
Maria I. Ortiz is energetic and engaging with a passion for teaching and a love for languages; she speaks four of them (English, French, Portuguese and Spanish) and is well-versed in Latin.
As an assistant professor of Spanish at UC Blue Ash College, Ortiz is beloved by her students and respected by colleagues for her innovative teaching methods, encouraging personality, and dedication to providing meaningful learning experiences.
While supporting her students as they learn Spanish, she also invites them to understand the culture and live the language. She states that “everything we learn in the classroom is another way in which we can appreciate the different worldly aspects of how people, live think and act.”
Professor Ortiz uses a variety of methods and technology to connect with every type of learner in her classroom — visual, auditory, kinesthetic, verbal and social. Her expertise was recognized with the 2017 UC Blue Ash College Distinguished Award for Innovative Teaching.
Ortiz speaks with a group of her students as part of an interactive class exercise.
She began her career as a schoolteacher in her native country of Puerto Rico before coming to the U.S. and earning her master’s degree and PhD at UC. In 2017, Ortiz led efforts to assist Puerto Rican college students with online courses after Hurricane Maria devastated the island. She worked with the UC Provost Office and colleagues nationwide to recruit and develop a network of Spanish-speaking professors who remotely taught students through the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in Puerto Rico.
Ortiz also shared her love for languages by teaching English literature this past summer at Xi’an International Studies University in Wuhan, China, as part of a faculty exchange program through UC Blue Ash. She is a champion for inclusion and diversity and shares her expertise of innovative teaching and language learning through presentations at regional, national and international conferences.
UC Faculty Awards
UC is saluting the 16 winners of our 2020 All-University Faculty Awards in a three-part series in UC News weekly through April 22. Beginning April 23, all winners will also be showcased on the Faculty Awards website.
About UC Blue Ash College
UC Blue Ash College is a regional college within the University of Cincinnati. It offers one of the best values in higher education with access to a nationally recognized UC education in more than 50 degree and certificate programs, as well as tuition that is about half of most colleges and universities. The college is located on a scenic 135-acre wooded campus in the heart of Blue Ash, Ohio. To learn more, call 513-745-5600, visit us online, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
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