Graduate
Alumni
The ÐÜèAVÃâ·Ñ Department of World Languages would like to acknowledge the following alumni for completing their Ph.D. in Linguistics and Applied Language Studies (LALS). Congratulations, bulls!
(Alumni in alphabetical order; year of graduation in parenthesis)
Dr. Khalid Alghamdi (2024)
Current position: Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics, Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University
Dissertation title: Genre analysis of promotional texts: Rhetorical patterns and metadiscursive features
of teaching philosophy statements
Dissertation committee: Matt Kessler (Co-chair), Camilla Vásquez (Co-chair), Carter Morgan, and Wei Zhu
Dr. Nafla Alshahrani (2026)
Current position: Assistant Porfessor, Jazan University
Dissertation title: Complimenting Saudi diplomats online: A crosslinguistic and cross-gender analysis
of syntactic realizations and stancetaking in Arabic and English YouTube comments
Dissertation committee: Camilla Vásquez (Chair), Judith Bridges, Matt Kessler, and Najma Al Zidjaly
Dr. Oksana Bomba (2023)
Current position: Instructor, University of Montana
Dissertation title: The discussion-conclusion section of quantitative versus qualitative research articles
in second language writing: Rhetorical structure and interactional metadiscourse
Dissertation committee: Wei Zhu (Chair), Nicole Tracy-Ventura, Amanda Huensch, and Brandon Tullock
Dr. Judith Bridges (2019)
Current position: Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of World Languages, University of
South Florida
Dissertation title: [X]splaining gender, race, class, and body: Metapragmatic disputes of linguistic authority
and ideologies on Twitter, Reddit, and Tumblr
Dissertation committee: Camilla Vásquez (Chair), Mariaelena Bartesaghi, Amanda Huensch, and Nicole Tracy-Ventura
Dr. Tuc Chau (2023)
Current position: Lecturer, UC Santa Barbara
Dissertation title: The relationships between L1, writing quality, and complexity, accuracy, and fluency
in L2 writing
Dissertation committee: Matt Kessler (Chair), Amanda Huensch, Brandon Tullock, and Wei Zhu
Dr. Zakaria Fahmi (2024)
Current position: Instructor, Department of English and Writing, University of Tampa
Dissertation title: Curricula as ideology: Cultural representations in Arabic as a foreign language (AFL)
textbooks
Dissertation committee: Brandon Tullock (co-chair), Camilla Vásquez (co-chair), Mohammed Albakry, and Wei
Zhu
Dr. Sean Farrell (2024)
Current position: Professor of Multilingual Composition, College of Liberal Arts, Arizona Western College
Dissertation title: Revision strategies and academic socialization of multilingual graduate students
Dissertation committee: Matt Kessler (Chair), Judith Bridges, Kate Yaw, and Wei Zhu
Dr. Tania Ferronato (2026)
Dissertation title: The dynamic nature of comprehensibility during ITAs' oral language performances
Dissertation committee: Katherine Yaw (Chair), Elizabeth Hanks, Okim Kang, and Camilla Vásquez
Dr. Antonella Gazzardi (2023)
Dissertation title: English use in Italian contexts: A digital ethnographic study of language ideological
discourses
Dissertation committee: Camilla Vásquez (Chair), Amanda Huensch, Brandon Tullock, and Wei Zhu
Dr. Özge Guney (2023)
Current position: Instructor, Hillsborough Community College
Dissertation title: The transformative impact of a semester-long US-based GELT course on pre-/in-service
teachers' cognition and classroom practices
Dissertation committee: Brandon Tullock (Chair), Ali Fuad Selvi, Nicole Tracy-Ventura, and Wei Zhu
Dr. Yaqian Jiang (2022)
Current position: Instructor, Department of English, Middle Tennessee State University
Dissertation title: The making of microcelebrities on Douyin: Multimodal design and online identities
in informal English instruction videos
Dissertation committee: Camilla Vásquez (Chair), Wei Zhu, Amanda Huensch, and Brandon Tullock
Dr. Jihye Kim (2026)
Current position: Instructional Assistant Professor of Korean, Univeristy of Mississippi (Ole Miss)
Dissertation title: MALL for lifelong learning: Older adults' self-directed language learning via Duolingo
Dissertation committee: Matt Kessler (Chair), Cindy Blanco, Camilla Vásquez, and Katherine Yaw
Dr. Ramona Kreis (2019)
Current position: Lecturer, Department of Linguistics and Literature, University of Bremen
Dissertation title: Right-wing, nationalist discourses and counter-discourses on Twitter during the European
migrant crisis
Dissertation committee: Camilla Vásquez (Chair), Jennifer Wolgemuth, Nicole Tracy-Ventura, and Tara Deubel
Dr. Francesca Marino (2025)
Current position: Visiting Assistant Professor, Ohio University
Dissertation title: Digital multimodal composing in an L2 Italian classroom: The effects of digital video
projects on students' development and investment
Dissertation committee: Matt Kessler (Chair), Larissa D'Angelo, Camilla Vásquez, and Wei Zhu
Dr. Yuxuan Mu (2026)
Dissertation title: Construction of Chinese identities and community: A linguistic ethnographic study
of a Chinese culture-sharing club at a US university
Dissertation committee: Camilla Vásquez (Chair), Matt Kessler, Yi Zhang, and Wei Zhu
Dr. Benjamin Puterbaugh (2026)
Current position: Visiting Assistant Professor, College of Charleston
Dissertation title: Semiotics of difference: Language, the body, and Haitian personhood in the Dominican
Republic
Dissertation committee: Camilla Vásquez (Chair), Judith Bridges, Elaine Chun, and Kiran Jayaram
Dr. Beibei Ren (2023)
Current position: Assistant Professor, City University of Macau
Dissertation title: L2 writer identity construction in academic written discourse: A multi-case study
Dissertation committee: Wei Zhu (Chair), Matt Kessler, Brandon Tullock, and Nicole Tracy-Ventura