Fluent In Leadership

Dr. Sarah Misemer relishes learning about people and building strong relationships. Her love of exploring cultures has resulted in a thriving academic career while her talent for collaboration has been foundational in multiple administrative roles.

As the new head of the Department of Global Languages & Cultures in Texas A&M University’s College of Arts & Sciences, Misemer looks forward to working collaboratively in the department and college as well as across the university to prepare Aggies for a rapidly evolving world.

“If a student has cultural competencies and speaks a foreign language, they will be a much better and more marketable employee because they are able to work with a broad spectrum of people,” she said.

Misemer understands firsthand how cross-cultural relationships can shape a life. Growing up in a suburb of Kansas City, Kan. she often visited her neighbors’ home.

“The wife was from Ecuador and the husband was from Switzerland. When they first met, the only language that they had in common was Italian,” she said. “When you went to their house, it was like going to the United Nations and opening your eyes to the rest of the world and to other ways of doing things.”

Those early cultural experiences soon influenced Misemer’s academic path, beginning with Spanish in middle school. “I loved learning how to read, so studying a foreign language rekindled that same spark — the magic of how words on a page can transport you,” she said.

Despite her affinity for languages and culture, Misemer initially entertained the idea of law school. Yet when it came time to select a college, she attended the University of Kansas because of its well-regarded programs in Spanish and Portuguese.

That course of study opened her eyes to new opportunities.

“I was fortunate to experience several study abroad programs, where my love for travel and learning about other cultures accelerated much of my coursework,” she said.

With room in her schedule during her final semester, she approached two professors about pursuing undergraduate and honors research projects on the medieval golden age text La Celestina, which she later completed.

Delving into these subjects opened Misemer’s latent talent for research.

“That formative experience taught me how to conduct research and apply research frameworks,” she said.

When a professor pointed out that few graduating seniors volunteer for extra projects on medieval texts and suggested graduate school, Misemer decided to postpone law school and stay at the University of Kansas to pursue a master’s degree.

“I worked with George Woodyard, one of the founding figures of Latin American theater studies in the United States and internationally,” said Misemer, who went on to complete her doctorate and served as Woodyard’s editorial assistant for Latin American Theatre Review while at KU. “There was really no reason to go anywhere else.”

Upon graduation, Misemer uprooted from the Midwest and headed to the Pacific Northwest to join the faculty at the University of Puget Sound.

“I worked with fantastic students, had a chance to refine my teaching, and got my first experience with a ‘real job,’” she said.

In 2004, Texas A&M was forming a new Department of Hispanic Studies and offered Misemer, a rising star in the field, its first faculty position. She’s since become an acclaimed scholar in contemporary Uruguayan and Argentine theater, performance and literature.

“Argentina was one of the main centers of theater in Latin America,” she said. “While I continue to study it, my focus has shifted to Uruguayan theater, which is closely related. Uruguay has a rich theatrical tradition, and my focus is on the post-dictatorship period of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.”

As a result, she’s published extensively on contemporary River Plate, Mexican, Spanish and Latino theaters in top journals, has authored three books and co-edited another. She also edits the Latin American Theatre Review book series and serves on the editorial board of the journal, in addition to the advisory board for the South Central Review.

Texas A&M provided professional shifts that Misemer didn’t see coming. “I've had this interesting career with great administrative roles that have allowed me to work across the university in ways I never anticipated,” she said.

In 2011, Misemer was recruited for her first administrative role as associate director of the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research. In that position, she embraced the center’s mission to create programming for scholars and the public, help fund faculty and graduate student research, and organize working groups.

She also championed the center’s inaugural program for undergraduate research in the humanities, including setting up humanities laboratories and developing processes for students to develop undergraduate theses in collaboration with the LAUNCH Undergraduate Research Office.

As a result of this work, Misemer was invited to join Texas A&M LAUNCH as the associate director of undergraduate research in 2016.

“I was able to create many different programs, including a strong humanities program,” she said. “We also were the first in the country to set up a full thesis program for students in creative fields so they could also take advantage of undergraduate research to propel themselves into postbaccalaureate experiences.”

Her administrative skills were tested again when she served on the Path Forward working group tasked with creating the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts, a role that led to her appointment as the college’s senior associate dean for faculty.

Now back in the College of Arts & Sciences, Misemer is experiencing a full-circle moment. In addition to being the first faculty hire in the Department of Hispanic Studies in 2004, she served on the working group that developed the former Department of International Studies. During the Path Forward reorganization, both departments were housed in the College of Arts and Sciences and eventually merged into what is currently the Department of Global Languages and Cultures, which Misemer now heads.

“It’s a good fit because I know a lot of our faculty and a lot of the history,” she said. “I’m looking forward to this new era in which we’re combined and even stronger.”

Misemer aims to be a determined advocate for the department’s mission and faculty at a time when cross-cultural operations are becoming increasingly important for organizations.

“In today’s marketplace, critical thinking combined with empathy and an appreciation for cultural expression helps you recognize that not everyone approaches things the same way,” she said. “There is value in learning about different approaches and worldviews, which can lead to problem-solving innovation.”

Ultimately, Misemer believes the department is well-positioned to prepare Aggies to take a leadership role in navigating a rapidly changing world.

“Our faculty help students better understand the direction of the world’s future by looking at ideas that have shaped culture, decisions, politics and economics in both the present and past,” she said. “If you look back throughout history, there are inflection points such as the Renaissance during which the discovery of cultural and classical texts sparked innovation, creativity and massive changes to geopolitics and society. Access to knowledge, inquiry and critical thinking continues to drive humanity forward, and that is exactly what our department is committed to supporting.”