Dr. Alicia Rico received her licenciatura from the University of Alicante, Spain, and master and doctorate from the University of Kansas.

Before coming to UNLV she was Co-director of the language program at the University of Kansas, where she also coordinated several levels of Spanish while doing her PhD. Dr. Rico has taught all levels of Spanish at the undergraduate and graduate level; she regularly teaches on special topics such as Mexican authors, monsters in Hispanic literature or Food Representation. Her research focuses mainly on the representation of women and women's issues in modern Mexican and Spanish literature. She has published articles on Mexican-Jewish authors and Food Representation in contemporary literature in peer reviewed journals and has presented extensively at national and international conferences.

At UNLV, she received the Rita Deanin Abbey Teacher of the Year Award (2013) and the William Morris Award for Excellence in Teaching (2018). She was nominated to the William Morris Award for Excellence in Research (2006), to the William Morris Award for Excellence in Teaching (2004, 2012), the Rita Deanin Abbey Teacher of the Year Award (2012) and the Alex G. and Faye Spanos Teaching Award (2016).