About

Richard Vela has a PhD from UNC Chapel Hill and a BA and MA from the University of Dallas. His areas of expertise are Shakespeare, Film, Latino Literature, Early Modern Literature, and Contemporary Literature. 

He has taught at UNCP since January 1971 and has presented over 140 conference papers, 90 of which have been on Shakespeare and film. His publications include co-authoring Shakespeare into Film (2002); the Shakespeare articles in The Encyclopedia of Orson Welles (2003); “Apocalyptic Spaces in Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet” in Apocalyptic Shakespeare (2009); “John Huston’s Mexico” (2010); and “Sicarios and the Latin American Assassin” in Next Generation Adaptation: Spectatorship and Process (2021). He has, also, published a total of 40 articles and reviews, including, "Daughter of Invention: The Poetry of Julia Alvarez" in Postscript (1999), and “Shakespeare, Hollywood, and Mexico:  The Cantinflas Romeo y Julieta” in Literature/Film Quarterly (2002). 

Dr. Vela has chaired the area of Shakespeare on Film and Television for the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association (PCA/ACA) since 2011, following six years at the Southwest Popular/American Culture Association (SWPACA). His awards include the North Carolina Board of Governors Award for Teaching Excellence; the Adolph L. Dial Faculty Award for Scholarship and Creativity; the University Outstanding Teacher Award; The Danforth Foundation Fellowship; and the Ford Foundation Fellowship. In 2002, he was also awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) fellowship to attend a five-week institute called “Shakespeare’s Stages:  Inside and Out,” which included work at the Blackfriars in Staunton, VA, and the Globe in London. He also participated in the Royal Shakespeare Company Teacher Workshop at Davidson College and attended the Sewanee Writers Conference. 

He is a Professional Association of Diving Instructors-certified Master Scuba Diver, with nearly 200 dives in the USA, Latin America, and the Caribbean.