Beloved Spanish Professor Passes

Last week the College and the surrounding community mourned the passing of esteemed Professor Emeritus Ana Martínez-Lage who died after battling cancer for many years. Although Martínez-Lage retired last fall to spend more time with her family, her death has deeply affected members of the college community where she was highly respected and deeply loved.

Born in Pamplona, Spain, Martínez-Lage completed her higher education in France and received her Ph.D. in the United States from Penn State University.  In 1996 Martínez-Lage joined the College as a member of the Spanish and Portuguese Department.

President Liebowitz described her as “a pioneer in the use of digital courseware materials” and noted that her development of the Spanish immersion program for Middlebury Interactive Languages “may well have a lasting influence on language education far beyond Middlebury.”

Professor of Spanish Patricia Saldarriaga also noted Martínez-Lage’s great contributions to the digitalization of language teaching, but stressed that she leaves a lasting impression beyond the classroom.

“Beyond academics, her greatest legacy to all of us will be her example of courage in adversity, of sheer grit in the face of terrible odds,” said Saldarriaga in an email.

Saldarriaga echoed Liebowitz’s remarks in emphasizing Martínez-Lage’s truly innovative teaching techniques with the use of technology.

“Again, using technology as a launching pad, she has helped prepare some excellent, truly innovative programs that use the latest theories of language acquisition and gives them a practical application through the latest technology,” said Saldarriaga.

Laura Reid ’04.5 worked closely with Martínez-Lage on her senior thesis and post-graduation collaborated with her on the development of her language immersion program.  Reid described Martínez-Lage as a linguist without parallel and held deep admiration for her patience with language students.

“Ana was a linguist par excellence, cerebrally and soulfully,” wrote Reid.

“She truly embraced the idea of native-like linguistic capacity on a fundamental level; never judgmental, she accepted a non-native's ability to master her mother tongue as easily as she accepted her fellow native speakers' capacity for linguistic finesse and creativity,” Reid added.

Although Reid praised Martínez-Lage’s academic accomplishments, what she found more impressive was her incredible spirit and positive disposition.

“Enduring, graceful, selfless and strong are some adjectives that immediately come to mind to describe Ana, but the truth is, her character goes far beyond the limits of what language can effectively describe,” said Reid.

The College held a memorial service to commemorate Martínez-Lage’s life last Saturday, Jan.19 in Mead Memorial Chapel.  The service’s attendance spoke volumes to the impact she had on both the College and the community.

In the words of Reid, “she was and is a unifying force of elegance.”