Message from the Director

January 14, 2013

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year! ¡Feliz año nuevo! ¡Feliz ano novo! Bòn ane! We want to wish you and your loved ones the very best for 2013.

As a federally funded Title VI area study center, every year we collect data for our reports to the U.S. Department of Education. I am pleased to share some of these figures with you. In fiscal year 2012, UM’s resources in teaching and research related to Latin America and the Caribbean totaled $12 million. Our latest survey finds 209 University of Miami faculty members with professional effort related to Latin America and the Caribbean. All of the schools and colleges at the university are represented in this extraordinary group with most of our experts coming from the College of Arts and Sciences, the Miller School of Medicine, and the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Additionally, UM currently collaborates with nearly 250 institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean in 24 countries. Every year, we sponsor hundreds of events covering a wide variety of issues that pertain to the region and have drawn remarkably large audiences. In fiscal year 2012, the Center convened nearly 4,000 people at its events.

These are very encouraging numbers to start the New Year, indeed! These numbers not only show our assets but they also underscore the importance of UM’s comparative advantage in terms of comprehensive knowledge on Latin America and the Caribbean and unparalleled networks in the region.

The Center experienced a significant leap in public exposure this past fall semester. Highlights include our very successful symposium, “Dialogues with the Informal City: Latin America and the Caribbean,” organized in partnership with the School of Architecture. We released an e-publication entitled Setting the Agenda: Asia and Latin America in the 21st Century based on the workshop held at UM in April 2012. Setting the Agenda was immediately “Top ten” in downloads among publications of over 650 authors in the Digital Commons Network’s field of Work, Economy and Organizations. We launched an initiative on immigration with a fall colloquium on “Migration and Development” that brought together cutting-edge research by faculty from UM, FIU and other institutions. As part of our commitment to original research and intellectual debate, we continue to support working groups, interdisciplinary research groups, new partnerships with Latin American universities and civic organizations, and more. Our program in Latin American Studies is steadily growing: we recently launched a semester-long Study Abroad Program in Cusco, Peru.

The spring semester will be busy as well. Consistent with our vision of becoming agenda setters, we will continue our ongoing initiatives and will focus on key issues such as food security, corruption, the new middle class in Latin America, and Latino politics in the United States.

Thank you for your continuing support. Stay in touch!

Con mis mejores deseos,

Ariel C. Armony
Director, Center for Latin American Studies
University of Miami