1996-1997 Dr. Megan Lloyd

Dr. Lloyd became the first Director after the first North American Conference on Welsh Studies met on the campus of the University of Rio Grande in 1995. Megan S. Lloyd was born in Oak Hill, OH, and grew up in the Welsh North American community, attending gymanfoedd and other Welsh functions. As an undergraduate, she studied for a semester at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. She received her B.A. in English from Wittenburg University, her M. A. in English from the Ohio State University, and her Ph. D. in English from the University of Kentucky. In 1993, she began her academic career at the University of Rio Grande as an assistant professor of English. There, she was fortunate enough to become the first Director of the Madog Center for Welsh Studies.

Dr. Lloyd has served as officer and president of W.A.Y. (Welsh Associated Youth), has been on the board of the Welsh National Gymanfa Ganu Association, and has served in various capacities with the North American Association for the Study of Welsh Culture and History (NAASWCH), which formed as an outgrowth of the Madog Center itself. Along with Dr. Roderic Owen, Dr. Lloyd was the recipient of the 2000 Ninnau Citation for contributions to the North American Welsh community.

She has numerous publications to her credit, including her most recent work entitled, "Rhymer, Minstrel Lady Mortimer and the Power of Welsh Words", forthcoming in the collection, Shakespeare and Wales. Her book, "Speak it in Welsh": Wales and the Welsh Language in Shakespeare will be published in August, 2007.

Currently, Dr. Lloyd is an associate professor of English at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where she continues her interest in Wales and the Welsh, speaking at area Welsh societies and writing about Wales, Shakespeare and the Renaissance.

1997-2000 Dr. Marcella Barton

Marcella Barton was the second Director of the Madog Center. Born in Bedford, Ohio, Marcella received her bachelor's degree from The University of California, Riverside. she earned her masters degree from The University of Akron and her Ph.D. from The University of Chicago in British history. While a graduate student at Chicago she was an exchange student at Oxford. Barton was a professor at The University of Rio Grande for twenty years.

As Director of the Madog Center, she continued the work of Megan Lloyd. One of Barton's major projects was organizing the archives. She edited and wrote the introduction for Welsh-Americans. The Manuscript Collection The Historical Society of Pennsylvania. She also edited and wrote the introduction for Catalogue of Books. Welsh- American Heritage Museum, Oak Hill, Ohio. Throughout her tenure she wrote articles for Ninnau and Y Drych. Her inaugural address when she served a term as president of The Ohio Academy of History was The Welsh Errand into the Wilderness which was later published in Ninnau.

As a professor, Barton served on numerous committees and received two distinguished teaching awards: The Edwin A. Jones Excellence in Teaching Award and The Distinguished Teaching Award from the Honors Students. She also received a number of Distinguished Service Awards from the Welsh-American Heritage Museum, the Ohio Academy of History, and Rotary. In the community, Barton served on the Citizens Advisory Board for Gallipolis Development Center and the Statewide Citizens Advisory Board. She served as chair for both boards for many years. Barton also served on the West Virginia Symphony League and was a member of Rotary.

After leaving Rio Grande, Barton moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where she is teaching as an adjunct professor at The University of North Florida.

2001-2004 Kara Lewis

The third Director of the Madog Center came to the University of Rio Grande on the Evan E. Davis Scholarship to earn her M. Ed/Fine Arts degree. A native of Llandrindod, Mid-Wales, she earned a BA degree with honors from the University of Wales, Lampeter, in Welsh Language and Literature in 1997. Between 1997 and 1999 she researched an M. Phil. degree on the teaching of Welsh as a second language. In addition, she taught Welsh to adults and was a language assistant in the Welsh Department at the University of Wales, Lampeter. She has also trained as a professional subtitler and taught the skill at the University of Wales, Lampeter.

While Director of the Madog Center, Kara worked to forge new contacts between this noted Welsh area and Wales, as well as organizing activities to support the local Welsh-American culture. She worked closely with Curator Mildred Bangert at the Welsh-American Heritage Museum to organize and preserve Welsh artifacts, assisted the Tri-Valley Celtic Society in increasing the venue of the Annual Celtic Festival held yearly on campus, was instrumental in leading the Welsh Byway committee to gain signage and recognition in the State of Ohio Scenic Byways Program, and ensured that the Welsh Student Exchange Program with Trinity College in Carmarthen, Wales grew. Kara's strength was bringing people together, and she alone was able to bring increased participation and interest in Welsh activities and events in this area.

Kara returned to Wales in 2005 to marry her husband, Graham Jones. She and Graham live in Rhydaman, Wales with their little daughter, Tarian and young son Morgan. Kara recently celebrated the launching of a new Welsh language resource, Teach Yourself Welsh Conversation, co-authored with Dr. Christine Jones. This 3 CD set is accompanied by a reference guide that covers basic conservational topics that learners are likely to encounter. A unique feature of the set is that it also teaches the listening and understanding skills to help learners hold two-way conversations. She remains involved in Madog Center events and often hosts American visitors when they visit Wales.

2005-2006 Dr. Timothy Jilg

Though born in Memphis, Tennessee, Tim grew up in Warren, Ohio, and considers himself a native Ohioan. His interest in Wales was first piqued when he was very young. His older brother, an avid reader and Britophile, used to read tales from Britain to him as a child. Some of his favorite stories came from the collection of Welsh folk tales, The Mabinogion.

Tim attended Kent State University, and when the opportunity arose for him to take part in an exchange program between his home university and the University of Leicester in England, he jumped at the chance. So for the academic year 1993-94, he lived in England but spent every weekend visiting various parts of Wales. It was then that he started to learn the language and knew he wanted to be part of Wales and its culture. He graduated summa cum laude from Kent State in 1995 with a degree in Literature and Linguistics.

After graduation, Tim moved to Wales to begin studying the language in earnest. He spent a uear attending an intense Welsh course before beginning an M.A. at Cardiff University. In 1997 he graduated with honors from the Center for Language and Communication Research, where he wrote a dissertation on adult learners of the Welsh language. Tim then moved to west Wales to surround himself with Welsh speakers and to immerse himself in Welsh-language culture. He began a Ph.D. the following year in the Welsh Department at Cardiff University and was granted his doctorate in 2004. His Ph.D. is a dissertation on the Welsh language in north Wales and is written in Welsh.

Tim had met Kara Lewis and Mark Abell in Wales and was interviewed for the position of Director as soon as Kara announced she would be leaving. Tim started the job in March of 2005, jumping in right where Kara had left off. Tim kept up the hectic pace of activities of the Madog Center and was also able to teach language workshops around Ohio. He was involved as a member of the Board of Directors of the Welsh Society of Central Ohio, participated with North American Association of Celtic Language Teachers, National Welsh Gymanfa Ganu Association, and the local Welsh Cardigan Club. Tim createdthe University's first online Welsh language course, "The Lingo" which continues to attract students internationally.

In 2007, Tim heeded the call of the Welsh hills and returned home to Wales. He now holds a position in research at the University of Wales, Cardiff. He retains his connection with the Welsh in southeastern Ohio by continuing as instructor for "The Lingo" here at the University of Rio Grande.