Dr. Benjamin “Benji” Smith hails from Cheyenne, Wyoming. He has taught Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Utah. He received his PhD in Romance Philology from the University of Pennsylvania. His research interests have mainly focused on Medieval poetry, Diachronic linguistics, Migration and Galician language and culture. Dr. Smith has directed travel tours to Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Spain, Germany, and Italy. He approaches intercultural communication by helping students understand the roots of language acquisition, culture-shock, xenophobia, separation anxiety, and homesickness among a host of other challenges and opportunities that arise when cultures come into contact. Dr. Smith loves helping individuals overcome their anxieties and achieve successful intercultural experiences by adopting a healthy cultural self-identity and utilizing constructive communication habits.
Dr. Smith was the Faculty Athletics Representative to the NCAA at Minnesota State University Moorhead for ten years and he received Lecturer of the Year in 2013.