Anita Nadal
Nadal previously worked for the Division of Community Engagement for 10 years, which supported many of the community-engaged programs she developed.
Anita Nadal is assistant professor of Spanish in the VCU School of World Studies. Nadal previously worked for the Division of Community Engagement for 10 years, which supported many of the community-engaged programs she developed. She is deeply committed as a community engaged faculty member with an enthusiasm for engaging students and other faculty members in community initiatives. Some examples are: VERDE “Efficient use of energy resources in Europe and the benefit of alternative energy sources in immigrant communities in southern Spain.” A Welcoming Richmond grant helped provide civics and language classes for 200 immigrants and refugees. Some became United States citizens with support from this program.
Nadal has been actively partnering with local, statewide, national and international organizations throughout her time at VCU. She has successfully launched a wide variety of different types of projects with many different types of community partners. Additionally, Nadal has consistently been the motivating force behind all of the projects she has engaged with—from sparking the idea to finding collaborators (on campus and off) to attracting resources.
Nadal understands the principles that define high-quality community-university partnerships. She builds trusting relationships with off-campus partners and listens to ensure that partners’ needs and interests are centered in the work. She understands the importance of student voice in community-engaged and experiential learning; and she positions herself as a co-learner and relishes opportunities for personal growth that result from high-quality community-university partnerships. Nadal is an accomplished educator. She has regularly taught language and culture to adult learners (e.g., firefighters, health providers and university faculty and staff).
Her most recent community work has focused on supporting a refugee center in Tucson, Arizona and a student of color empowerment program at a local high school in Richmond.
Nadal is the 2018 recipient of the VCU Presidential Award for Community Multicultural Enrichment and the Riese-Melton Award.