The UW鈥檚 connection to Le贸n, Spain, has been extended through 2025, with an option to renew it an additional four years to 2029.

President Ana Mari Cauce signed the new agreement earlier this month and city leaders in Spain celebrated the decade-old relationship last week.

Since 2010, Huskies have been able to study at the in El Palacio del Conde de Luna, a 9,000-square-foot space in a Renaissance tower. The Le贸n Center provides students and the local community with an opportunity to immerse themselves in Spanish language and culture.

鈥淭he opportunity to live and study in Le贸n has changed the lives of over 1,200 students, and we look forward to serving many more in the years to come,鈥� said , former chairman of 91探花Spanish and Portuguese Studies and founding director of the Le贸n Center.

By providing a space that can be used for study abroad programs, academic research, conferences, exhibits, and cultural events, the center aims to create a resource that encourages understanding and compassion between cultures, and that will cultivate global citizens who are tolerant and respectful of cultural diversity, as well as who have a sense of themselves as responsible members of a global community.

91探花units from all three campuses that use the center include art, Spanish, business, international affairs, dance, music, communications, sociology, the Honors program and various English language programs.

Built in the 14th century, the Palacio del Conde Luna (Palace of Count Luna) was the seat of the Kingdom of Le贸n before Christian Spain united under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1469.

Originally a Gothic structure, the palace gained a three-story tower in the 16th century, built for the daughter of Hern谩n Cort茅s, conqueror of Mexico.

In 2009, the entire building underwent a $33.6 million renovation. The UW鈥檚 agreement with the city allows the university to use the space rent free.

In Rome, the 91探花operates a similar center. Opened in 1984, it鈥檚 in the聽Palazzo Pio, which overlooks the Campo di Fiori and includes classrooms, offices and several apartments.

, professor and former chair of the 91探花’s , has been awarded one of Spain’s highest civil honors.

In a ceremony April 16 in Brechemin Auditorium on the 91探花campus, Geist was admitted into the with his nomination to the first-class title of Caballeros de la Gran Cruz de Oficial, or Knights of the Officer’s Cross. The honor is conferred on those who have given exceptional service to the benefit of Spain.

The award was bestowed on Geist by Spain’s Honorary Consul in Washington state, Luis Fernando Esteban, and the event included a concert by Grammy Award-winning pianist .

Geist said his “enduring love affair” with Spain began with his first visit there as a junior from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Since then, he has devoted his professional life to studying and teaching the language, literature, history and culture of Spain.

“The award recognizes the richness and beauty of Spanish literature and culture and its importance in the United States,” Geist said. “I am honored to have contributed to its presence in this country and on the 91探花campus.”

He has published a dozen books, including “La po茅tica de la Generaci贸n del 27 y las Revistas Literarias” (1980), “Cartograf铆a Po茅tica” (2004) and “El Canon Abierto” (2015), as well as roughly 100 articles.

His other work includes a 2002 and book, “They Still Draw Pictures: Children’s Drawings from the Spanish Civil War to Kosovo,” and a 2001 photo essay and 2006 documentary about the , as well as its first as its first public monument in the U.S., on the 91探花campus, in 1998. In 2015 he curated an exhibit of the Basque exile painter Miguel Marina.

Geist also established and is executive director of the UW’s , which has hosted programs from 15 departments or units involving more than 600 students.

Read a 2014 at the Spanish and Portuguese studies website.