The Faculty Advisory Committee of the Center for Latin America is pleased to report to the College faculty that the Center has continued to make significant progress during the current academic year. Specifically, we note the following achievements:

1. Acquisition of federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education (HEA Title VI) to support the Center's programs during 1998-99. This funding is for the second year of our current three-year cycle (1997-2000).

2. Provision of financial support to faculty members of the Center in their research endeavors. Center support of faculty research proposals has produced significant publication results as well as promising applications for extramural funding.

3. Provision of funding and staff assistance to departments and professional schools in support of their graduate and undergraduate instructional programs.

4. Salary support for the teaching of one 100% Latin American content course in History and two new courses in Portuguese to strengthen the overall course offerings available to students.

5. Support for 1998-99 College Faculty Access Grants for Comparative Research under the Wisconsin International Outreach Consortium (WIOC) consisting of Madison and Milwaukee Title VI Resource Centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education. These grants support regional college faculty interested in doing comparative area studies research at Madison and Milwaukee libraries.

6. Participation in study abroad/exchange opportunities for UWM students, including (1) undergraduate semester/academic year program of study at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile in Santiago in cooperation with the University of Notre Dame; (2) the Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico (San German campus); and (3) the Dominican Republic for health care professionals.

7. Coordination for a three-credit Study Tour to Cuba offered during the new UwinteriM term. Professors Howard Handelman (Political Science) and Julio Rodriguez-Luis (Spanish and Portuguese) served as group leaders.

8. Administration of the Donald R. Shea Scholarship in Latin American Studies. The scholarship provides support for an undergraduate to participate in UWM's study abroad program to Chile or a graduate student to participate in research-related travel. Three students received this scholarship during 1998-99.

9. Completion of the English language (subtitled) version of the educational video, El Futuro Maya: voices from the present, focusing on the Maya Movement, which is an effort by indigenous peoples to revitalize aspects of their linguistic, religious, artistic, and material culture.

10. Continued support to UW System faculty members and Latin American programs and events at public and private institutions in this region, including an annual travel award competition and a newsletter to serve this network.

11. Coordination of the Certificate Program in Latin American Studies.

12. Provision of regular contact, information, and advice for students whose specialization is in the Latin American studies area.

13. Continued support for the Spanish component of a System-wide placement test for students of foreign languages as well as support for training in oral proficiency interviewing and competency-based teaching and testing techniques.

14. Support of lectures, conferences, symposia, concerts, and workshops with appropriate UWM Departments, Institutes, and Centers.

15. Support for the annual Latin American Film Series cosponsored with the Department of Film and Union Programming and in collaboration with the Chicago Latino Film Festival.

16. Continued support for library acquisitions at UWM and other public and private institutions in the Upper Midwest.

17. Support for an institutional membership to the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin Americanist Library Materials (SALALM).

18. Provision of services and professional development opportunities to elementary, secondary, and college teachers and students in the region through workshops in Latin American language and area studies, and continued development of the instructional materials collection within the Center's Resource Collection.

19. Operation of a new electronic mail listserv to serve as a statewide and regional instrument for sharing news/events/opportunities related to Latin America.

20. Provision of logistical support for a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar for School Teachers on Borges, Cortazar, Garcia Marquez, and the Unfinished Reality of Latin America. Julio Rodriguez-Luis (Spanish and Portuguese) directed the seminar for fifteen teachers.

21. Continuation of gatherings for Milwaukee area Latin Americanists to meet and share ideas and research in progress.

22. Support and assistance to regional Latin American studies organizations. The Center serves as secretariat for the North Central Council of Latin Americanists.

It should be noted that during 1998-99 a search was conducted for a new Center Director. Professor Kristin Ruggiero was selected, and her appointment is effective August 1, 1999. She will have a joint appointment in the Department of History.

Respectfully submitted,


Paul Brodwin, Chair
Markos Mamalakis
Kristin Espinosa
Julio Rodriguez-Luis (ex officio)
Lance Grahn, Marquette University
Leslie Schulz
Howard Handelman
Harry Van Oudenallen

August, 1999