Dr. Enrique Salas Durazo readily admits that he actually planned to become an engineer before teaching Spanish — and winning the 2026 Faculty of the Year Award — at Westminster College.
Born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico, Salas Durazo followed in his father’s footsteps by receiving a four-year technical degree in electronics and digital communications from Centro de Enseñanza Técnica Industrial (CETI). He immediately accepted a job as supervisor of production lines for Lucent Technologies.
Yet Salas Durazo did not feel fulfilled.
“I reflected more on my life goals and realized that becoming a professor was more in line with my idea of promoting self-improvement through a strict education,” he says, adding that he still intended to continue working in the field of engineering.
For several years, Salas Durazo pursued his passion for teaching after accepting a position at CETI.
But even after that career change, something was still missing. Salas Durazo was an accomplished Classical pianist who, at heart, was seeking a more creative career path. So after completing his music studies at the University of Guadalajara, he embarked upon a degree in music performance and Spanish at Whittier College near Los Angeles, California.
It was at the liberal arts college where Salas Durazo finally uncovered his true passion: the field of Hispanic studies and literature. He soon received a full scholarship to the University of California, Riverside, where he earned his master’s degree and doctorate in Spanish, specializing in 20th and 21st century Latin American literature.
The rest is Westminster College history and the good fortune of numerous Westminster students, many of whom nominated Salas Durazo for this year’s Patricia Kleine Liebling Faculty of the Year Award.
“He shows up with a smile on his face and is always willing to help,” one student wrote on the nomination form.
“His material is so digestible. He tried to relate the material back to us and consistently stepped beyond what he had to do to make sure everybody genuinely enjoyed learning,” another wrote.
These characterizations are just a glimpse at Salas Durazo’s day-to-day approach to his 13-year position at Westminster.
“By following the steps of all the wonderful people who were behind me during my formative years, I learned that being cheerful, considerate, respectful and understanding of the different situations everyone is experiencing is the best way to help students discover their true skills and personal strengths,” the professor explains.
When he isn’t teaching, Salas Durazo enjoys traveling abroad, especially with students to Argentina, Guatemala and Spain. He also is a self-described voracious reader who absorbs books on history, science, music, art, poetry and, of course, Classical music and opera.
Pastimes aside, his students would say he finally found his calling in the classroom. And they are so glad he did.
“Westminster College has truly been the institution where I found my place in the world,” Salas Durazo reflects, adding, “It makes me very emotional to know that my work does not go unnoticed.”
Sarah Rummel Backer is the Director of Media Relations and Senior Writer at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. A proud Westminster graduate, Sarah has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and strategic communications in the areas of higher education, medicine, agriculture, and the private business sector.
