This year, the AATSP Board of Directors is honored to name the Instituto Cervantes as the recipient of the 2024 AATSP Lawrence Wilkins Founder’s Award. The Founder’s Award was created to recognize individuals or entities that have a long history of collaboration with the AATSP and have played an important role in supporting the Association and its mission. The Instituto Cervantes truly embodies the spirit of the Founder’s Award.

The relationship between the AATSP and the Instituto Cervantes has been and continues to be a rich, long-standing collaboration that dates back decades. This collaboration is a model of mutual support of our shared mission of sustaining and developing teachers of Spanish of all levels and nurturing the Hispanic heritage in the United States.Accepting this award on behalf of the Instituto is Dr.

Bueno Hudson, Executive Director of the Instituto Cervantes in New York City, and a steadfast friend and partner of the AATSP.

We wish Dr. Richard Bueno Hudson the best as he prepares to leave his current position to take charge of the Instituto Cervantes in Lisbon, Portugal.

Who was Lawrence Wilkins?

Lawrence Wilkins was a founding member of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish (AATS) as the Association was known at the time. The genesis of the AATS began in 1914 with organizing the teachers of Spanish in New York City. In the years that followed, Wilkins communicated with teachers of Spanish on all levels and areas of the country until finally on December 29, 1917 teachers of Spanish committed to the establishment of the AATS. He was the President of the AATS in 1918-1920 and 1927. He also served as Vice President from 1921-1926. In addition to his service to the AATS, Wilkins served as assistant principal of DeWitt Clinton High School, and he ultimately became the Director of the NYC Board of Education’s Bureau of Foreign Languages. He also wrote 14 books on the teaching of Spanish. Wilkins certainly demonstrated a love for Spanish and showed great foresight with the creation of the Association.

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