CROSSING LATINIDADES INITIATIVE OBJECTIVES
To engage, mentor and prepare a national cohort of Latino Humanities Studies doctoral students and emerging scholars for the professoriate and successful careers in academia
To enhance, strengthen, and reinforce advanced humanities graduate student’s research skills, intellectual curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking and introduce them to deep collaborative, comparative, and cross-regional research
To support the intellectual growth of junior faculty
To develop and help sustain a life-long network of researchers and scholars in the humanities through an active web portal
To advance the field of comparative Latino Humanities Studies
HISTORY
In the Spring of 2020, the then University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Chancellor Michael Amiridis, Professor Amalia Pallares, Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Engagement, and Professor María de los Ángeles Torres, LAS Distinguished Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, identified the need to create a consortium of Carnegie designated Research 1 and Hispanic Serving Institutions to advance research on U.S. Latinas/os/x, to strengthen the pipeline to the professoriate, and develop new collaborative research agendas.
In the summer of 2020, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded UIC’s Office of Diversity and the Latin American and Latino Studies Program, a Mellon Officer’s Grant to create the consortium to enable scholarly collaborations and a new institutional infrastructure for broad collaboration across multiple Latino Studies Humanities projects and engaged Scholarship.
On October 29-30, 2020, the first convening of R1 HSI Presidents and Chancellors under the rubric Crossing Latinidades: Building Comparative Latin@ Studies took place virtually to start the blueprint for collaboration leading to the successful submission of a $5 million Latino humanities grant to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
UIC to lead new consortium of Hispanic-Serving Institutions
$5M Mellon Foundation grant to support a national initiative in Latino humanities studies
Mellon Foundation extends Crossing Latinidades initiative with $5M grant
Fundación Mellon amplía la iniciativa Crossing Latinidades con subvención de $5M
TIMELINE
Spring 2019
The success of the UIC-based Mellon/IUPLR Dissertation Completion Grant leads the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to invite its Principal Investigator Dr. María de los Ángeles Torres, former executive director of the Inter-University Program for Latino Research (IUPLR) consortium at UIC (2013-2018) and professor of Latin American and Latino Studies, to envision and design a new initiative for US Latino doctoral students and Latino Studies.
Dr. Torres, then UIC Chancellor Michael D. Amiridis, and Dr. Amalia Pallares, Associate Chancellor and Vice Provost for Diversity, jointly identify the need to create a dedicated consortium of U.S. Latino research bringing together Research 1 Hispanic Serving Institutions to address the low numbers of Latino/Hispanic PhDs and increase the dismal percentages of full-time tenured Latino faculty.
Fall 2019
Drs. Amiridis, Pallares, and Torres enter conversations with the President and Officers of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to propose the creation of a R-1 HSI consortium.
Conversations extend to include national organizations such as Excelencia in Education.
Spring 2020
UIC is invited to submit a Mellon Officer’s grant proposal that will lead to the creation of a consortium of the sixteen R1 HSIs envisioned to advance a comparative Latino Studies Humanities Agenda while creating a shared communication and collaborative infrastructure.
July 2020
UIC is awarded a $150,000 Officer’s Grant from the Mellon Foundation to launch and lead a new consortium of 16 R-1 HSIs organizing meetings among the 16 chancellors and presidents and scholars in the 16 universities.
UIC to lead new consortium of Hispanic-Serving Institutions
October 2020
Strategic consultative meetings among presidents/chancellors and stakeholders to find common strengths, to gauge levels of interest, to explore how to best serve their Hispanic/Latinx student population, and to determine how cross- regional collaborative research in these major universities could look like in the third decade of the twenty-first century.
Chancellor Amiridis, Drs. Torres and Pallares convene and host at UIC the virtual event “Crossing Latinidades: A Meeting of the R1 HSIs” to work on building a unique academic consortium to advance Latino Studies and address the diversification of faculty. Sixteen chancellors and presidents affirm their support and participation in the consortium to be chaired by Michael Amiridis (UIC); Dr. Robin L. Garell (CUNY-The Graduate Center); Dr. Mark B. Rosenberg (Florida International University); Dr. Lawrence Schovanec (Texas Tech University); Dr. Robert C. Robbins (University of Arizona, Tucson); Dr. Howard Gillman (University of California, Irvine); Dr. Kim A. Wilcox (University of California, Riverside); Dr. Henry T. Yang (University of California, Santa Barbara); Dr. Cynthia K. Larive (University of California, Santa Cruz); Dr. Alexander N. Cartwright (University of Central Florida); Dr. Renu Khator (University of Houston); Dr. Garnett S. Stokes (University of New Mexico); Dr. Keith E. Whitfield (University of Nevada, Las Vegas); Dr. Neal J. Smatresk (University of North Texas); Dr. Teik C. Lim (University of Texas, Arlington); and Dr. Heather Wilson, (University of Texas, El Paso).
Five multi-university faculty working groups are established to create an infrastructure for collaboration in the areas of Pathways, Teaching, Collaborating Research, Cultural Programming, and Archives and Collections.
Winter/Spring 2021
A survey of institutional resources, academic programs, research initiatives, libraries and archives, and publications was also conducted. Members of the five working groups meet regularly throughout the winter and spring 2021 to develop the blueprint for the humanities and humanistic social science research for the consortium.
Three pilot proposals featuring multi-institutional collaborative and comparative humanities research projects emerged from this planning grant focusing on important themes and issues: 1.) An innovative curricular and pedagogical approach for HSIs that develops models of creative writing that move beyond craft to write about race, politics, and identity and to engage with the social, the historical, the communal, and the political; 2.) Spanish as Heritage Language (SHL) curricular configurations leading to self-assessments, a best practice working paper, and an intercampus pilot coursework connecting to SHL programs; and 3.) A study of climate change and environmental justice looking at the restoration, preservation, and accessibility of water resources in Latino/a/x communities that addresses the ways in which water, infrastructure, and human communities interact as well as the modes of knowledge generated by these interactions.
April 2021
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation invites UIC to submit the concept paper: “Crossing Latinidades: Developing Humanities Scholars and the Field” for a new comparative Latino Humanities Studies research and training initiatives under the Crossing Latinidades consortium. The collaborative research experience of these pilot groups serves as the basis for the conceptualization of the research working groups in this proposal.
May 2021
Principal Investigators María de los Ángeles Torres and Amalia Pallares are invited by the Mellon Foundation to submit a full proposal for the implementation of a consortium of 16 R-1 HSIs and humanities activities.
July 2021
The sixteen chancellors and presidents reaffirm their support and participation in the Crossing Latinidades consortium by issuing letters of commitment.
September 2021
The Mellon Foundation (formerly Andrew W. Mellon Foundation) awards the University of Illinois at Chicago a five-million-dollar grant for a period of three years to implement the consortium of 16 R1 HSI and three programs for second- third year doctoral students, a grant competition for ten research working groups, and the development of a web portal to connect all.
October 2021
The Crossing Latinidades Consortium initiate its activities with the Mellon Foundation humanities grant that serves as the anchor for a consortium of R1 HSIs. Dr. Olga U. Herrera, becomes Managing Director of the Crossing Latinidades Humanities Research Initiative.
November 2021
The Crossing Latinidades Humanities Research Initiative announce a Call for Applications for doctoral students for the 2022 Summer Institute in Latino Studies Methodologies and Theories to take place at UIC. It also issues a Call for Proposals for faculty for its Crossing Latinidades Research Working Groups Grant Competition.
December 2021
Meeting of Chancellors and Presidents hosted by UIC to take consortium to next stage. The vision is to expand in various area of Latinos and Latino Studies such as Law Schools, Medical Schools, STEM. A new name for the consortium is proposed – Alliance for Hispanic Serving Research Universities.
January 2022
Chancellor Michael Amiridis becomes President of the University of South Carolina, he resigns from UIC. In announcing his departure UIC System President Tim Killeen noted Dr. Amiridis’ achievements: “Michael has established a position of national higher education leadership for UIC. He led the creation of a new consortium of Hispanic-serving research universities that is having a major impact in improving diversity among researchers and faculty.”
Farewell to UIC Chancellor Amiridis, January 14, 2022
February 2022
The Crossing Latinidades Initiative selects 32 doctoral students in Latino humanities/ humanistic social sciences to attend its 2023 Summer Institute.
April 2022
The Crossing Latinidades Humanities Research Initiative awards 30 fellowships of 30 doctoral students for the year 2022-2023.
May 2022
The Crossing Latinidades Humanities Research Initiative announces the winners of ten Latino research working group grants.
Crossing Latinidades Consortium becomes the Alliance for Hispanic Serving Research Universities.
June-July 2022
The 2022 Summer Institute in Latino Studies in Latino Studies Methodologies and Theories is held at UIC.
August 2022
The Crossing Latinidades Mentoring Program is launched with the 32 participants of the Summer Institute and 32 faculty of universities across the US.
Ten Crossing Latinidades Research Working Groups start their collaborative and comparative research.
November 2022
The Crossing Latinidades Humanities Research Initiative announce a Call for Applications for doctoral students for the 2023 Summer Institute in Latino Studies Methodologies and Theories to take place at UIC.
March 2023
The Initiative Launches the Crossing Latinidades Speakers Series, as an exploration of key texts in Latino Studies. The inaugural conversation between scholars in Latino Studies features Maria de los Angeles Torres, Renato Rosaldo, and Jonathan X. Inda discussing the book Culture and Truth: The Remaking of Social Analysis (Beacon Press, 1989).
April 2023
Crossing Latinidades Speakers Series Conversation featuring Rina Benmayor, William V. Flores and Richard Flores discussing the book Latino Cultural Citizenship: Claiming Identity, Space, and Rights (Beacon Press, 1997).
Crossing Latinidades Mellon Professionalization Workshop: The Craft of Academic Writing with Deanna Ledezma, April 25.
June 2023
The 2023 Summer Institute in Latino Studies in Latino Studies Methodologies and Theories is held at UIC, June 16-25, 2023.
Crossing Latinidades Symposium held at UIC featuring Amalia Pallares, María de los Ángeles Torres, Jonathan X. Inda, Ralph Cintrón, Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes, Nancy Raquel Mirabal, Jennifer R. Nájera, and Patrisia Macias. Held on June 17, 2023.
July 2024
The 2024 Summer Institute in Latino Studies Methodologies and Theories is held at UIC, July 5-14.
September 2024
Ten Crossing Latinidades Research Working Groups complete their two-year comparative and collaborative research.
October 2024
Crossing Latinidades Speakers Series Conversation featuring Hector Tobar discussing the book Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race & The Meanings and Myths of "Latino," on October 17.
Crossing Latinidades Mellon Professionalization Workshop: So You Have Moved to Candidacy, Now What?
November 2024
Crossing Latinidades Speakers Series Conversation featuring Rocío Zambrana, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras discussing her book Colonial Debts: The Case of Puerto Rico on November 21.
The Crossing Latinidades Humanities Research Initiative announces its Call for Applications for doctoral students for the 2025 Summer Institute in Latino Studies Methodologies and Theories to take place at UIC on June 20-29, 2025.