Professor Sara Sáez-Fajardo is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, and the Director of the Spanish Basic Language Program. She holds a PhD in Hispanic Linguistics with a specialization on Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education (SLATE) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2023) and a Master's degree in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language from the Universidad de Salamanca (2017).
Her research interests include language teaching and assessment for heritage and second language learners, focusing on equitable practices for both groups. She has conducted research on computer-assisted and asynchronous language learning, proficiency testing, and the language learning strategies of multilinguals. She is a regular participant in programs offered by Rutgers' Institute for Teaching, Innovation, and Inclusive Pedagogy (TIIP). During the 2025–26 academic year, she was an inaugural fellow in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Program and is currently a Provost Teaching Fellow.
She is a member of a women's choir in Hoboken, and in her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, and going to the movies.
