FACULTY FOCUS

Iya Price

Assistant Professor of Instruction

Growing up in Russia, Iya Price would pretend her toys were her students and she was their teacher. “For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a teacher,” she says. “It has been my life’s dream.” Dr. Price is living her dream at UTA, where she teaches Russian language and literature. “I want to make sure my students get a feel for the beauty of the language itself,” she says. “I am also passionate about orienting my students toward careers that involve the Russian language, from government service to translation or teaching.”

What past accomplishment makes you most proud?

I think the highest accomplishment in my career so far is receiving the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award in 2022. It encourages me to continue to excel in my teaching and service. The most rewarding feeling for me as a teacher is to know that I met my students’ academic and career needs and that they succeeded not only during my courses, but also in their future endeavors.

What are you excited about right now?

My students are taking a language proficiency test to measure where they are in their language learning journey. I am excited to see their results! If they score on the test at intermediate-mid or advanced-low levels, they can receive the Global Seal of Biliteracy Certificate that I am also very excited about! To see my students succeed makes all my efforts to improve my curriculum and teaching worth it.

What are you most looking forward to?

We just finished a project called Rebuilding a Russian-American Conversation that was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, and it was a great success. My students were able to collaborate live with students from Russia and learn about each other’s cultures. I am planning to apply for more grants like this to make our programs more exciting and effective.