ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the process of adoption, implementation, and institutionalization of innovative pedagogical approaches in Spanish heritage language teaching at two small regional comprehensive universities that serve sizable Hispanic populations: Colorado State University, Pueblo, and Central Washington University, Ellensburg. Central Washington University, founded in 1891 as the Washington State Normal School in Ellensburg, Washington, is one of three regional comprehensive universities in the state. As D. Rogers noted in his study of the general diffusion of innovation, the adoption of any innovation is a complex process that goes through various stages, while dealing with the gradual adhesion of key players to the cause. The analysis presents an overview of the institutions and their Spanish programs, and then examines the processes through which each organization has assimilated innovation into its structure. Having detailed and systematic organizational processes in place have made the innovations less dependent on a group of reformers.
