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Office of New Americans
Portrait of Louis A. Arena

Louis A. Arena

Commissioner

Biography

Lou is a Professor Emeritus from the University of Delaware where he completed a distinguished teaching and research career as a linguistic professor.

He holds his doctorate in Linguistics and Japanese Language from Georgetown University and a Master of Arts in Scholastic Philosophy from Villanova University and a Master of Science in Psycholinguistics from Georgetown University. His undergraduate work was a Bachelor of Arts in Japanese Language from Georgetown University.

He and his wife, Joanne Delikat, have been married for 44 years. They have three children: Maria Theresa, Andrea Michelle, and Luis William. They also have four grandchildren: Avery; Kelsey; Maggie; and Shane.

Lou taught a wide variety of course at the University of Delaware, among them: English grammar; psycholinguistics; Japanese language; sociolinguistics; language and the mind; writing patent applications (for attorneys); and teaching English in the inner city. He also served as chairman of the Committee of Examiners for the Test of English as a Foreign Language for the Educational Testing Service and as a consultant on test design to the Delaware state Department of Education. He also proudly chairs the Board of Directors of the Mary Campbell Center.