Gillian Mansfield is Associate Professor of English language and translation at the University of Parma. Her present research interests include wordplay in media texts, the use of corpus linguistics in language learning awareness, cultural identity in global advertising and technology enhanced collaborative language learning. At present, she is taking part in a 3-year project at her university on the implementation of e-learning for learning languages.

She has been both treasurer and secretary of AICLU (Associazione Italiana dei Centri Linguistici Universitari). From September 2008 to September 2012 she became Secretary General of CercleS (European Confederation of Language Centres in Higher Education) after which she was elected (2012) and re-elected President in 2014. In her capacity as president she has also become, with David Little, Editor-in-Chief of the CercleS academic journal Language Learning in Higher Education.