New faculty for fall 2026 - update

The Faculty of Arts is pleased to welcome Dr. Cindy Zhuang, PhD, and Dr. Isabel Lara, PhD'20, to the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures. Read their bios to learn more about the new assistant professors, who joined the previously announced fall 2026 cohort.

Dr. Huaping (Cindy) Zhuang, PhD

Assistant professor (Teaching), School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures

Dr. Zhuang holds a PhD in comparative literature from Zhejiang University. She has over 20 years of experience teaching Chinese language and culture at the postsecondary level in China, the United States, and Canada. 

Her academic interests include comparative literature, introducing Chinese classics to English-speaking audiences and Chinese language pedagogy.  She believes language learning is much more than acquiring vocabulary and grammar; it is also a way of understanding people, cultures, and different perspectives.

Dr. Zhuang is looking forward to working with her new colleagues and students in the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures.

Dr. Isabel Lara, PhD'20 

Assistant professor (Teaching), School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures

Dr. Lara earned a PhD from the University of Calgary. Her scholarly research focuses on colonial literature and religious writings in Spanish America. Her work explores thematic elements such as the body, pain and writing within the texts and traditions of colonial-era religious figures in New Granada.

As an assistant professor (teaching), she will be teaching Spanish in the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures.