Faculty & Staff Abroad

Raquel Ballester (Barcelona)

Raquel Ballester Ibañez is the Head of Administration and Homestays as well as Centre Manager at the IAU Barcelona Center since 2017. Her tasks include but are not limited to finances, administration and center management. She also assists with Academic Affairs and is in charge of managing Instituto Cervantes’ official exams. Previously she worked as Center Manager at a children’s school. She is currently taking a Management Assistance course. She speaks Catalan and Spanish and understands English very well.

Mary Boyington (Aix-en-Provence)

Mary Boyington serves as the Dean of Students at the Aix-en-Provence campus. Dr. Boyington first joined ACM-IAU in 2012 and then returned in 2023 as the Dean of Students. She teaches in the Center for French Studies and the School of Humanities & Social Sciences. Her research interests include nineteenth century literature, translations studies, and international education. She completed a M.A. in French and Francophone Literature at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and a PhD in American and Comparative Literature from Aix-Marseille Université in 2017. Her experience in U.S Higher Education includes directing a residential faculty-led program in Paris, managing programming at the Oldenborg Center for Modern Languages and International Relations at Pomona College, leading internationalization efforts for the five campuses of the Colleges of the Fenway in Boston, as well as working in the academic relations team for a major study abroad provider. Since moving to France, Dr. Boyington has taught literature and translation at Aix-Marseille Université and worked for at several study abroad programs, including Syracuse University Strasbourg from 2014-2023. In 2023, she was delighted to return to Aix-en-Provence and ACM-IAU to take on the inaugural role of Dean of Students in Student Affairs. Her experience directing study abroad programs in France has given her a unique perspective in academics and student affairs, as well as specializations in emergency management, student services and implementing collaborative cross-campus projects. In addition to her duties at ACM-IAU, she is a member of the governing board of the APUAF (Association for American University Programs in France) and the planning committee for the Forum on Education Abroad EAME 2024 Conference. Dr. Boyington speaks French, English, Spanish, and beginning German.   

Dr. Muriel Cros (Aix-en-Provence) 

Dr. Muriel Cros is a linguist, a teacher, and a poet. She joined IAU in 1996 as a professor of French Language and Literature. In 2012, she became Chair of the French Department and Director of the French Honors Program and Summer French Teachers Workshop and in 2014 she became an Assistant Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. During her many years of teaching experience within IAU and in prestigious French and American institutions of higher education, including Harvard and Vanderbilt University, Dr. Cros created many multidisciplinary courses and programs such as “Crossing Spaces in the Intercultural Contexts”, “Dialogue between French and Francophone Literature” and “France as seen through its Movies”. She earned a Masters in Literature, Aix-Marseille I University (1981), a Ph.D. in Linguistics in Aix-Marseille I University (1986) dealing with the relations between Poetic Patterns and the Acquisition of Language by Children, and a second one at the University of Montpellier III (1994). She was only the second linguist in France hired by the French Government for a national public health research program evaluating Discourses of Prevention towards young people. Dr. Cros’ research and publications have focused on Discourse Analysis (conceptualization of the language used in Public Health) and now on Plurilinguism and Multiliteracies (Creative Approaches and Language Learning). Dr. Cros is also an accomplished poet and visual artist. Her sculptural work explores themes relating to words and space and has been published and exhibited internationally. She is fluent in French and English, and speaks some German.

Chloé Dhalluin (Aix-en-Provence)

Chloé Dhalluin has been Student Life Assistant since January 2023. Her role is to help students integrate in their new lives in Aix such as aide with medical visits, transportation and safety. She oversees the student life activities and aides with housing. Chloé received her Bachelor's in media arts with minors in French and broadcasting at California State University, Chico. She studied abroad in Lyon, France and later returned to France to teach English with TAPIF in 2018-2020. She has worked in the tourism sector throughout France. She speaks fluent French and English. 

Dr. Aurore Guitry is the Coordinator, Center for French Studies since 2022. She is a writer, translator, and Professor of literature, French and translation at ACM since 2016. She holds a Master in Literature (Women and imagination in Shakespeare’s plays: King Lear, Richard III and Macbeth), and a PhD in creative writing from Aix-Marseille University. She has written six novels, some of which are translated into Italian, German and Russian. Her work and research explores the problem of identity and the relation between text and image. As a ghostwriter, she wrote several biographies for politicians or business figures. She has also translated a dozen American novels, biographies, art books, etc. She is fluent in French and English and speaks Thai.  

Kay Hernandez Figueras (Barcelona)

Kay Hernandez Figueras is the Coordinator of Academics and internships at the IAU Barcelona Center since 2022. Previously she worked in different schools and language academies as a teacher and coordinator. She has also worked as a project manager and coordinator for different private clients as well as in a performing arts production company. Kay holds a master's degree in Cultural Production and communication from the Blanquerna University and a degree in Musical Theatre from Institute of the Arts Barcelona. She speaks Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese and English fluently.

Catherine Mezan (Aix-en-Provence) 

Catherine Mezan began work as an administrative assistant in 2023, focused on Library, Textbook and academic resource coordination, work-study and administrative requirements. She worked for several years as a Librarian, Journalist, and in Communications in France. She has a Master of Science and a Master of Business Administration. She speaks French, English and German.

Melanie Petot (Aix-en-Provence)

Melanie Petot began work as an administrative assistant in 2022, focused on aiding students with work-study, excursions and administrative requirements. In 2023 she became the assistant coordinator of site logistics. She worked for several years in the tourism industry in France. She has a Licence (B.A.) in Geography from Aix-Marseille University and a Licence (B.A.) in Business from ESCAET. She speaks French and English.

Dr. Leigh Smith (Aix-en-Provence)

Dr. Leigh Smith is the Vice President of Student Affairs, a position created in August 2022. He was previously Dean of the College and Academic Director from April 2011 to August 2022. He has taught courses in literature and French culture since 2005 prior to becoming the Academic Director after serving as interim director of The Aix Center over the 2008-2009 academic year. He continues to teach Comparative Literature and leads a January Term Traveling Seminar: Great Cities of Europe. Dr. Smith’s research has largely focused on the Twentieth-century European novel, and he is currently tracing the novelistic representation of the European city. Dr. Smith has extensive study abroad experience, beginning in 1998 when he worked in the University of North Carolina’s Paris program while still a graduate student. He has taught at the Université de Paul Cézanne and at Aix-Marseille University and has worked with other study abroad programs in France. He has a B.A. from Auburn University and Masters and Ph.D. degrees in comparative literature from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He speaks French, Italian, and German.

Anthony Triolo (Aix-en-Provence)

Anthony Triolo has been a professor since 2005 and the ACM Wine Studies Coordinator since 2022. He teaches International Relations, Environmental Politics and Eco-gastronomy. His scholarly interests center on the relationship between international security and the global environmental crisis with a particular focus on sustainable agriculture. He is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and has several years’ experience managing sustainable/organic vineyards and making wine in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA of California. He received a Bachelor’s degree (Summa Cum Laude) in International Affairs from the American University of Paris, a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the Université Paul Valery III, Montpellier in conjunction with the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Aix-en-Provence, France. He holds a WSET 3 Wines Certification and is currently working on a Ph.D. in Sustainable Development and Diplomacy at Euclid University. He speaks English and French.

Valeria Vasquez (Barcelona)

Valeria Vasquez is the Housing Coordinator for IAU's Barcelona campus. Her tasks consist of planning, organizing and providing the best quality of accommodation for students, negotiations with vendors, managing of the maintenance team, daily follow up of students' needs, among others. Originally from Colombia she has lived more than half of her life in Spain. In her previous job as a coordinator and airline agent for American Airlines, she fulfilled the functions of organization and, above all, aeronautical and airport security. She speaks Spanish, Catalan and English.