Leonardo Flores

Scholar, Leader, Creator

Leader

Featured Leadership Roles and Accomplishments

Appalachian State University

Chair of English Department (2019-present)

  • Documented, redesigned, and created departmental practices and procedures, formalizing them into bylaws through democratic processes.
  • Spearheaded curricular overhauls for 6 programs: Creative Writing, Film Studies, Literary Studies, Rhetoric and Technical Writing, Secondary Education, and Honors.
  • Hired 16 tenure-stream, 42 full time non-tenure track, and 20+ part-time faculty.
  • Shifted department culture to be more collaborative, collegial, and engaged.
  • Co-authored the first Indigenous Land Acknowledgement at App State, first for the English Department and then for the whole institution.
  • Successfully guided the department through numerous challenging circumstances: a communication crisis, the COVID-19 Pandemic, Hurricane Helene, the emergence of generative AI, and adapting to UNC system mandates.
  • Led fundraising efforts to direct resources towards creating 2 new scholarships, commissioning art for Sanford Hall, and supporting our department's Foundation account.

Institutional leadership as Chair (2019-present)

  • Helped redesign and implement the university's General Education Curriculum.
  • Elected as Chair of the Council of Chairs (22-23 chair-elect, 23-24 CoC chair)
  • Helped redesign guidance for Search Committees and trained all faculty.
  • Helped develop 2 interdisciplinary Minors: Latin American and Latine Studies Minor, AI Humanities Minor.

Modern Language Association (MLA)

Task Force on AI in Teaching and Research (2025-present)

  • Co-Chair. AI in Research Working Group. July 2025 to present.
  • Assembled a team of 26 leading scholars in the field and appointed a co-chair.
  • Produced Working Paper on AI in Research and Scholarship (forthcoming).
  • Member
  • Developed and offered two Task Force panels at MLA 2026: "Planning for What's Next with AI on Your Campus" and "When Do We Need to Know What Is AI and What Is Student Writing? How Can We Know?"
  • Webinar: Technology and Evolving Research Practices in the Humanities

Committee on Information Technology (CIT) (2024-present)

  • Chair (2025-26 academic year)
  • Directed review, development, and archiving of CIT online assets.
  • Developed and carried out two CIT panels at MLA 2026: "Student-Centered AI and DH Practices," and "Pedagogy and Student-Centered AI"
  • Oversee development of sponsored panels for MLA 2027.

MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force on Writing and AI (Jan. 2023 - Jan. 2025)

  • Co-authored 3 working papers:
    • "Working Paper 1: Overview of the Issues, Statement of Principles, and Recommendations." July 2023.
    • "Working Paper 2: Generative AI and Policy Development: Guidance from the MLA-CCCC Task Force" April 2024.
    • "Working Paper 3: Building a Culture for Generative AI Literacy in College Language, Literature, and Writing," September 2024.
  • Co-authored the "Student Guide to AI Literacy" MLA Handbook Plus, September 2024.
  • Spearheaded and co-authored "Initial Guidance for Evaluating the Use of AI in Scholarship and Creativity" January 2024.
  • Offered three MLA webinars on each of our working papers.

Red de Literatura Electrónica Latinoamericana (Lit(e)Lat)

President (2024-present)

  • Developed and documented operational procedures for the organization.
  • Supported the publication of Antología Lit(e)Lat, Vol. 2.
  • Supported the creation of Ymaquina bi-annual workshop series.
  • Helped organize the 10th anniversary celebration of Lit(e)Lat in Buenos Aires.
  • Expanded the Board of Directors from 6 to 9 members.

Steering Committee Member (2015-2024)

  • Created organization's website, social media accounts, and mailing lists.
  • Assembled the team and co-edited the Antología Lit(e)Lat, Vol. 1.
  • Helped assemble the editorial collective for Antología Lit(e)Lat, Vol. 2.
  • Spearheaded the creation of bylaws and electing a Board of Directors.

Electronic Literature Organization (ELO)

President (2019-2022)

  • Established, refined, and democratized processes, tightened our finances, and brought greater transparency, accountability, and inclusiveness as an organization towards our community.
  • Developed a Code of Conduct for our online and event spaces.
  • Seeded the creation of two literary magazines: Filter and (RE)VERB.
  • Supported the publication of the Electronic Literature Collection, Volume 4.
  • Supported three successful international annual conferences.
  • Steered the organization through the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Board of Directors (2014-2018)

  • Served as Treasurer and Vice-President, managing the organization's budget, leading fundraising activities, developing the Electronic Literature Archives, and supporting the President in her initiatives and leadership.
  • Coordinated and co-edited the Electronic Literature Collection, Volume 3.

University of Puerto Rico: Mayagüez Campus (UPRM)

Interim Chair of English (Jan 2017 - Jun 2019)

  • Documented, redesigned, and created departmental practices and procedures.
  • Addressed difficult personnel and budget issues.
  • Successfully guided the department through numerous challenging circumstances: a 2-month long shutdown of the UPR system through student protests, Hurricane María, fiscal and operational mandates from the UPR system.

Associate Dean of Assessment and Educational Technologies (2018-2012)

  • Spearheaded institutional adoption and support of audience response technology.
  • Supported institutional adoption and implementation of assessment.
  • Created initiatives to support grantwriting in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Link to Curriculum Vitae: Leadership Version

See my blog for how my scholarship serves as leadership for the field.