Meet the Directors

Resident Director and On-campus Director for the Knox Program in Barcelona

Resident Director
While you're in Barcelona, your Resident Director will become your advisor, your R.A., your confidant, and your tour guide, doing everything from picking you up at the airport and assisting you in selecting a host family to advising you on courses to take and restaurants to try. Your Resident Director will take you out for your birthday, and to the movies, the theater, and soccer matches. And don't forget, your director will also serve as a great resource for historical, cultural and political aspects of Spain.

The Resident Director for the Knox Program in Barcelona for 2009-2010 is Fernando Gomez, Assistant Professor of Spanish.

Fernando was born in Madrid, Spain to a Spanish father and an American mother but moved to California at the age of four where he lived until moving to Galesburg. During his third year of college, he moved back to Madrid to live with his family and attend the Complutense de Madrid to further his studies in Spanish linguistics and arts. Upon receiving his B.A., he moved to Seville, Spain where he studied flamenco guitar for nine months.

These wonderful experiences made Professor Gomez realize that he wanted to learn more about this fascinating country. When he returned to the US, he began and completed his Ph.D. in Hispanic Literatures and Languages at UC Santa Barbara to achieve this goal. Now, as a professor at Knox College since 2005, he feels very fortunate to be able to return to his country of birth and share it with others that are likewise eager to learn.

On-campus director
If you're considering participation in the Knox Program in Barcelona, our On-campus Director can provide additional details about the program and help you with questions about courses offered, academic credit, student visa applications, and other important paperwork.

The On-campus Director also holds informational meetings about the program. He or she will meet with you to discuss the most appropriate time frame for your study abroad experience. The On-campus Director also manages the selection of candidates for the program.

The Resident Director for the Knox Program in Barcelona for 2009-2010 is Tim Foster, Associate Professor of Modern Languages.

Professor Foster has taught at Knox since 1989. He traveled abroad for the first time in 1976 as a high school student in the American Field Service (AFS) program. He traveled to Maldonado, Uruguay, where he lived for a year. Later, as a Grinnell College student, he stayed with a family in Seville, Spain. Since taking those trips, Foster has developed a love for travel and a passion for Spanish and Latin American language and culture. He served as the Resident Director for the Knox Program in Barcelona from 1994 to 1996, the spring of 1999, and from 2002 to 2004.