From the desk of

Ramona Hernández, Ph.D., Director, CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, Professor of Sociology, The City College of New York

I am pleased to share with you two significant news items, one is a first in the history of Dominicans in the United States, and the second is an exciting development with respect to the Conference on the Spanish Caribbean–and my hope that more of you will decide to join us in Santo Domingo for this Conference.

A SPECIAL ISSUE ON DOMINICAN STUDIES!

Last week, I received the most important printed volume that has crossed my desk in a long time: A special issue of the journal Camino Real devoted entirely to Dominican Studies. This is the FIRST time that a multidisciplinary academic journal has devoted an entire issue to the field. I had the honor of co-editing this volume, with my colleague Anthony Stevens-Acevedo, at the request of the publisher, Instituto Franklin of the Universidad de Alcalá, Spain, and its editor José Antonio Gurpegui, to whom we are especially grateful.

The authors selected for this volume include seasoned as well as up-and-coming scholars in the field:

Sarah Aponte provides a statistical analysis of the more than 700 doctoral dissertations published in the U.S. on Dominican-related topics since 1939; Dr. Daisy Cocco de Filippis writes about the history of the tertulias of Dominican women writers; Emilia María Durán Almarza provides a reading of Josefina Baez’s performance text “Dominicanish”; Ofelia García and Lesley Bartlettwrite about the notions of “trust” and “care” in a Dominican-run high school for newly arrived immigrant youth in Washington Heights; Sydney Hutchinsonexplores the musical influence of New York merengueros on merengue típico;Juleyka Lantingua-Williams interviews Pulitzer-prize winning writer Junot Diaz; Danny Méndez examines the racial and affective gaps in the New York memoirs of Pedro Henríquez Ureña;and Marisel Moreno writes about the Afro-Dominican identity of immigrant poets like Marianela Medrano and Sussy Santana.

The journal can be ordered by subscription from Instituto Franklin’s website:
http://www.institutofranklin.net/en/research/publications/revista-camino-real

CONFERENCE ON THE SPANISH CARIBBEAN
EXTENDED FROM TWO TO THREE DAYS,
JULY 25 -27

WE HOPE YOU WILL JOIN US!

Because of the unexpectedly large response and the quality of the submissions—close to 80 proposals were received in response to the Call for Papers—the Spanish Caribbean Conference Organizing Committee has extended the conference from two to three days, July 25 to 27. In addition, a second prestigious venue has been added for the second and third days, the Academia de la Historia Dominicana. (The opening day events and panels will be held at FUNGLODE headquarters.)

This is the first time that scholars from around the world will gather to consider and debate the proposition that the Spanish Caribbean deserves to be studied as a field in its own right. This is a bold proposition. We hope that as many of you as can will join us in Santo Domingo July 25-27 for an exciting and unprecented debate that will engage prominent academics from the U.S., the Spanish Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, and other parts of the world.

This conference is open to the public free of charge but registration is required in advance of the Conference. (Although registration may be possible at the door, advanced registration will facilitate entry at the conference sites.)

The City University of New York is conducting a study to examine the effectiveness of its faculty recruitment and diversity activities over the past 10 years.  This study will also assess the experiences of underrepresented faculty and identify the best recruitment and retention practices within the University and at peer institutions.  The goals of the study are to develop a framework for improving the representation and experience of underrepresented groups and to strengthen the climate for diversity and inclusion across the University.

As part of this study, the consulting firm Cambridge Hill Partners will facilitate a number of faculty focus groups to identify a range of ideas and actions in support of an inclusive, respectful, and supportive workplace for all groups at the University.  The groups will also help the University to understand if experiences differ based on aspects of identity.  To that end, focus groups will be organized around the following identities:

African-American/Black
Asian
Caucasian/White
Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered/Queer
Hispanic/Latino
Individuals with Disabilities
Italian American
Male
Female

I ask for your participation in one of these focus groups.  Each focus group meets once and only for two hours.  The complete focus group schedule is included below.

Anyone interested in participating in a focus group should email Jenny Hua at jenny.hua@mail.cuny.edu and indicate a group preference (e.g. Female).  Also, please feel free to share information with others who may be interested in participating.

Thank you for your assistance.

Chancellor Goldstein established the CUNY Latino Faculty Initiative to redouble CUNY’s outreach and recruitment efforts within the Latino community in higher education. Currently headed by Dr. Arlene Torres, the project has two primary objectives: (1) to undertake outreach and recruitment activities to attract outstanding candidates for faculty positions in all disciplines at CUNY, and (2) to work with CUNY colleges to connect highly qualified candidates to positions open within the CUNY system.

Contact Information:

CUNY Latino Faculty Initiative
Hunter College
Centro – East Building 1406
695 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10065
arlene.torres@hunter.cuny.edu