The Lawrence Wilkins 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.

This year, the award is presented to Professor Mark P. Del Mastro and Sigma Delta Pi.

Professor Mark P. Del Mastro and Sigma Delta Pi truly embody the spirit of this award. Del Mastro is the Executive Director of Sigma Delta Pi, as well as Associate Provost for Academic and International Programs and Professor of Hispanic Studies at the College of Charleston (Charleston, SC).

Founded in 1919, Sigma Delta Pi is the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society and a member of the Association of College Honor Societies. Sigma Delta Pi is also one of the AATSP’s longest-standing partner organizations.

Celebrating the history of Sigma Delta Pi and AATSP, Mark writes:
Meaningful partnerships require the selfless and sustained cooperation of individuals committed to the “enterprise,” which in the case of the 88-year alliance between Sigma Delta Pi and the AATSP is the shared mission of advancing the Spanish language and Hispanic cultures. The 2026 Lawrence Wilkins Founder’s Award represents the long-standing collaboration of numerous outstanding professionals such as Emily Spinelli, Sheri Spaine-Long, María Carreira, Ben Fraser, Kelly Scheetz, Domnita Dumitrescu, Germán D. Carrillo, Lucy F. Lee, Comfort Pratt, and others. Sigma Delta Pi is grateful to the AATSP and our exceptional leaders for an enduring partnership that continues to impact many.

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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