María Rosa Álvarez Sellers, Professor of Galician and Portuguese Philology, has been unanimously elected Dean of the Faculty of Philology, Translation and Communication at the University of Valencia. The vote by the Faculty Board took place on Monday 1 June, in which she received 25 votes in favour. Álvarez Sellers has served since 2024 as Vice-Dean for Culture, Equality, Inclusive Policies and Sustainability.
This vote marks the completion of the renewal of the Dean’s team following the resignation, last May, of Professor of German Philology José Antonio Calañas Continente, who had been Dean since 2024. This change leads to the appointment of Cinta Gallent-Torres, a lecturer in the Department of French and Italian Philology, as Vice-Dean for Culture, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, the following members of the Dean’s team continue in their roles: Adrià Martí-Badia as Secretary; Julia Aguilar Miquel as Vice-Dean for Student Affairs; Enrique Cerezo Herrero heading the Internationalisation department; in Undergraduate Studies, Fernando Pérez Lambás; Violeta Martínez-Paricio as Vice-Dean for Postgraduate Studies and Research; and Maria Josep Picó Garcés, Vice-Dean for Communication, Equality, Inclusive Policies and Sustainability.
Dean María Rosa Álvarez Sellers stated: “I take on this responsibility with humility, enthusiasm and a deep sense of service to the university community. I am aware of the challenges that lie ahead, but also of the strength that comes from working together. Our faculty boasts extraordinary human, academic and institutional resources, and I am convinced that through dialogue, cooperation and mutual respect, we will be able to continue moving forward.” “I begin this new phase with a commitment to listening, joining forces and representing the entire community of the Faculty of Philology, Translation and Communication. My commitment is to work with transparency, responsibility and a focus on the community to strengthen our collective project,” she concluded.
Academic background of the Dean
María Rosa Álvarez Sellers holds a PhD in Philology and a Bachelor’s degree in Hispanic Philology (University of Valencia) and Portuguese Philology (University of Salamanca), combining both specialisms in her research work. She is a Professor of Galician and Portuguese Philology attached to the Department of Spanish Philology. She received special honours for both her Bachelor’s and PhD degrees. She was awarded the “Becerro de Bengoa” National Essay Prize by the Provincial Council of Álava for her work *Spanish Tragedy in the Golden Age: Life is a Dream or the Crime of Birth*.
She is a member of the Centre for Theatre Studies (CET) at the University of Lisbon and the Centre for Portuguese Literature (CLP) at the University of Coimbra, as well as the international research groups “Proteo-Moretianos”, “Literary Writings: Heritage and Contemporary Relevance” and “Circe-Early Modern European Theatre on Screen”. He has participated in national and international research projects (R&D), notably NIFLAR (Networked Interaction in Foreign Language Acquisition and Research), led by Utrecht University, dedicated to teaching innovation in foreign languages, and CONSOLIDER (Spanish Classical Theatre Heritage. Texts and Research Tools) (Ministry of Science and Innovation. National R&D&I Plan), in which 49 universities participated. He is currently involved in EMOTHE: Second Phase of Spanish and European Theatre of the Modern Age: Heritage and Databases (ASODAT Third Phase), funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation; Golden Age Theatre in Diachrony: Study, Edition and Staging of Classical Verse (METADRAMA), funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the ERDF (EU); Classical Theatre in Valencia: Heritage and the Digital Society (TECLAVAL), with funding from the Regional Ministry of Education, Culture and Universities of the Valencian Regional Government.
Expert evaluator of R&D projects: ANEP (National Agency for Evaluation and Prospective Studies), AGAUR (Agency for the Management of University and Research Grants), Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia and Agência de Avaliação e Acreditação do Ensino Superior (Portugal). Expert evaluator of university degree programmes in Portugal for A3ES (Portuguese Agency for the Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education) and member of the Languages and Literature panel in the evaluation process of the Individual Call for Scientific Employment Stimulus – 7th Edition (2024–25) for FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal).
You can find the programme of Dean María Rosa María Álvarez Sellers and her team at this link:
Dean's Team Programme 2026-2032
