BOONE, N.C. — Dr. Catherine Fountain will serve as interim chair of Appalachian State University's Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures for the 2026–27 academic year, following the appointment of Dr. Paul Worley as associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS).
Fountain, a professor of Spanish, linguistics, and Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), joined App State as an assistant professor in 2006. She has held several leadership roles within the department, serving as assistant chair, graduate program director, and Spanish language program director.
Fountain earned her Ph.D. in Hispanic Languages and Literatures and M.A. in Spanish from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her B.A. in Linguistics and Spanish from Cornell University. Her teaching and research interests span linguistic historiography, language variation and change, Indigenous languages of the Americas, language policy in the Spanish-speaking world, and Spanish in the United States.
Her research examines language from both historical and contemporary perspectives, with particular emphasis on linguistic works produced in colonial settings. Her current projects include the study of early descriptions of Spanish in the United States, early Spanish-language descriptions of Indigenous languages in California, and descriptions of Nahuatl from Mexico's colonial period. Her broader scholarship has explored colonial grammars in the Spanish, French, and English traditions; the cultural and political status of Indigenous languages in Latin America; bilingualism and trilingualism in Mexican and Central American communities in the United States; and language variation and change.
Fountain teaches courses in Spanish and TESL, as well as upper-level courses in linguistics, literature, and cultural studies. Her approach to teaching emphasizes authentic language use, the integration of language and culture, critical thinking, and meaningful assignments and classroom discussions. She also works to foster students' understanding of sociolinguistic variation, both in Spanish language instruction and in linguistics courses.
In recognition of her teaching, Fountain received a UNC Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award in 2015. She has also been recognized for her commitment to student advising through multiple nominations for the CAS Richard N. Henson Outstanding Advisor Award.
See related: App State's College of Arts and Sciences announces new department chairs
###
About the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
The Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures offers courses that enhance students' understanding of other cultures and languages as well as their own, making them prepared for lifelong learning in a multicultural world. Learn more about the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical, and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college's values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating, and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State's general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more about CAS
By Lauren Gibbs
October 1, 2026
BOONE, N.C.
Smiling woman with short brown hair and black glasses, wearing a floral blouse and olive cardigan against a plain black background.
Dr. Catherine Fountain will serve as interim chair of Appalachian State University's Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures for the 2026–27 academic year. Photo by App State University Communications