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Full-Time Faculty of the Spanish Program

Associate Professor Alex Idavoy
Email: aidavoy@brookdalecc.edu
Office Phone: 732-224-2008
Larrison Hall (LAH), Room 232
Languages and ESL Department
Humanities Institute
Brookdale Community College

Man wearing green sweatshirt wearing glasses with facial hair and smiling. Beach in the background.Biographical Statement: Idavoy has been a full-time faculty member in the Language Department since 2000. During his tenure at Brookdale, he has developed the department’s online Spanish courses. A self-proclaimed geek, Idavoy incorporates technology, especially film, into his teaching. He curated a foreign film series on and off campus for over ten years. “My goal is to expose the greater Brookdale community to alternative forms of storytelling. Learning about the foreign helps us better understand the familiar.”

Of his experience as a first-generation college student, he shares, “My parents never learned English. So, I have a real understanding of the challenges first-generation students face navigating college both academically and – for those with similar immigrant backgrounds – culturally. My parents fortunately instilled in me an unshakeable pride in my Cuban heritage and the Spanish language. Sharing that experience and enthusiasm with my Brookdale students of all backgrounds is the most rewarding part of my nearly 25 years here!”

Idavoy first worked at Brookdale from 1987 to 1990 as both a Learning Assistant and Adjunct Instructor of Spanish, English as a Second Language (ESL), and Developmental Writing. He tutored writing at Brookdale’s site in Guayaquil, Ecuador. In the 1990’s, he taught bilingual elementary school in Cartagena, Colombia, studied for his master’s in Madrid, and taught Spanish, ESL, and Latin American Literature for several local colleges, including: Brooklyn College (CUNY); College of Staten Island (CUNY); Fordham University; Hudson Community College; Language Immersion Institute; New York University

He was recently invited to adjunct teach Violence and Resistance in Latin America at New Jersey City University in Jersey City.

Idavoy earned a B.A. in 1985 in Comparative Literature from Drew University. An an Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) scholar there, he designed a major to include his areas of interest: Spanish, English, and Classics.

He received his master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury College in 1996, focusing on contemporary Latin American literature.

Idavoy is developing his creative thesis for a Doctorate in Letters (D.Litt.) in Writing from Drew University. His creative work in both languages focuses on his layered experience as the only American-born son of Cuban political refugees. He was raised in Northern New Jersey’s Hudson County, a place he believes is accurately called, “Havana on the Hudson”!

Courses taught at Brookdale:

Selected Publications:

Interests: Communicative Language Teaching, Heritage Language Education, Instructional Design and Technology, Latin American History, Psychological Effects of Immigration and Exile, Foreign Film, Travel, Creative Writing, Taino culture, Yoga

William J. Ryan, Ph.D.
Email: wryan@brookdalecc.edu
Office Phone: 732-224-2655
Larrison Hall (LAH), Room 232
Languages and ESL Department
Humanities Institute
Brookdale Community College

Man wearing a jacket and light blue collared shirt. He has blond hair, wearing glasses, facial hair and a smile.Biographical Statement: William J. Ryan, Ph.D., is a full-time faculty member of the Languages and ESL Department at Brookdale Community College, where he co-coordinates the Spanish Program. He teaches all levels of the Spanish language and courses in English as a Second Language (ESL). He has lived and studied in Valparaíso, Chile, worked as a volunteer Spanish medical interpreter in Zacapa, Guatemala, and taught Spanish to U.S. students in Oviedo, Spain.

As an undergraduate, Dr. Ryan earned his B.A. in Spanish and English, with a concentration in Linguistics and English as a Second Language at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. He studied abroad for an academic year at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso in Chile. During his studies in Chile, he became a member of El Taller de Poesía de la Fundación Pablo Neruda de La Sebastiana (the Pablo Neruda Foundation Poetry Workshop at La Sebastiana, one of Neruda’s homes) in Valparaíso after submitting poems he had composed in Spanish.

Dr. Ryan completed his graduate studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he earned his Ph.D. in the Literatures of Latin America and Spain, and his M.A. in Spanish and Latin American Literatures and Hispanic Linguistics. Professor Ryan’s research focuses on the cultural production of Chile, Argentina, and Spain after World War I. He analyzes avant-garde novels and political essays from these three countries against the backdrop of the crisis of parliamentary democracies, the rise of authoritarianism, and the widespread financial volatility in the 1920s and 1930s. Professor Ryan links debates in aesthetics, politics, and economics to philosophical traditions relating to democracy, community, and sovereignty.

Dr. Ryan has published his research in peer-reviewed journals and has presented his work at national and international conferences. He is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Council of the peer-reviewed journal Anales de la Literatura Española Contemporánea (Annals of Contemporary Spanish Literature).

Dr. Ryan’s research, training, and scholarly interests inform his teaching and development of curriculum. He taught at Temple University and Villanova University prior to joining the faculty of Brookdale’s Languages and ESL Department. He has designed and instructed introductory, intermediate, and advanced Spanish language classes, as well as courses in Latin American, Iberian, and U.S. literary and cultural studies.

Engaging contemporary applied linguistics research on language acquisition, Dr. Ryan employs a communicative approach in the classroom. He seeks to foster a collaborative learning environment in which students feel welcome, respected, and empowered to advance their linguistic skills and cultural capabilities, while gaining regional and global understanding. He believes in the transformative potential of the study of languages and cultures in a multicultural and multilingual society. Dr. Ryan is honored to teach at Brookdale, a world-class institution. He views the community college as an institutional structure which exemplifies the egalitarian possibilities of accessible, high-quality public education for all.

Interests: Latin American and Iberian Cultural and Literary Studies, Communicative Language Teaching, Avant-Gardes and Aesthetics, Political Philosophy, Literary Theory, Applied Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, International Relations and Human Rights, Religious and Spiritual Traditions, Information Literacy, Heritage Language Education

Courses taught at Brookdale:

Selected Publications:

Diversity Statement: Brookdale Community College fosters an environment of inclusion and belonging. We promote a safe and open culture, encourage dialogue respecting diverse perspectives informed by credible sources, and uphold the virtues of civil discourse. We celebrate all identities with the understanding that ultimately, diversity, equity, and inclusion cultivate belonging and make us a stronger Brookdale community.