Top Cuba scholars gather at FIU to discuss Cuba’s future


Seminar marks 20th anniversary of Cuban Research Institute

The nation’s top Cuba scholars will gather at Florida International University to discuss what lies ahead for Cuba as part of the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of FIU’s Cuban Research Institute.

The panel discussion, “Cuba Today and Tomorrow: Reform and Expectations,” will take place on Friday, April 15, at 3:45 p.m. in the MARC International Pavilion on FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus, 11200 SW 8th St., Miami. The discussion is part of a day-long seminar marking two decades since the Cuban Research Institute was founded. The seminar also will feature a luncheon with noted Cuba scholar Jorge Dominguez of Harvard University. For a complete schedule please click here.

“This seminar embodies what the Cuban Research Institute is about – collaborative, cross-disciplinary research on Cuba and Cuban-American issues,” said Uva de Aragon, associate director of CRI. “The Cuban Research Institute has also had an important role in sponsoring cultural activities, such as annual concerts, enjoyed by the Cuban-American and Latin-American community in Miami.”

The seminar will bring together FIU faculty and Cuba experts from around the country, including the former directors of the Cuban Research Institute – Lisandro Perez, currently chair of the Department of Latin American and Latina/o Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Damian Fernandez, currently Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Purchase College, State University of New York.

The Cuban Research Institute is part of the Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC) at FIU’s College of Arts and Sciences. Since its founding in 1991, it has leveraged its faculty and its unique location in the heart of South Florida, home to the largest concentration of the Cuban diaspora, to become the  nation’s leading institute for research and academic programs on Cuban and Cuban-American issues. 

Among the highlights of the past 20 years:

  • The Cuban Research Institute draws upon the Cuba-related expertise of its associated faculty, distributed across various colleges and schools, from the humanities and the social sciences to education, business, and public affairs. CRI is a member of the Inter-University Program for Latino Research, a nationwide research organization bringing together scholars from a wide variety of disciplines to conduct policy-relevant research on Latinos. 
  • CRI has maintained a program of academic exchange and research collaboration with Cuban scholars since its founding.
  • Since its founding, CRI has spearheaded a number of projects including the Cuba Lecture Series, which brings distinguished authors and scholars to Miami.
  • CRI also hosts an international conference that attracts hundreds of scholars from a wide range of fields and scholarly interests.
  • CRI has supported the research on Cuba of many graduate students, both from FIU and other universities, and has helped form a new generation of scholars devoted to the study of Cuba and its diaspora.

Anyone interested in attending the anniversary seminar can RSVP to Aymee Correa at CRI, 305-348-2894 or aymee.correa@fiu.edu. The seminar is open to the public. Admission to the panel discussions is free. Admission to the keynote luncheon is $35. 

Media Contact: Madeline Baró at 305-348-2234.