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Jennifer Harpaz
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Community Leaders Gather to Support FAU's Caribbean and Latin American Studies Programs

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (July 5, 2005) - The goals of several South Florida community leaders came into shared vision with the objectives of Florida Atlantic University's Caribbean and Latin American Studies (CLAS) program recently at a reception on FAU's Fort Lauderdale campus. The reception was held to initiate the development of a network of support for research and understanding of North American relations with Latin America and the Caribbean, and of the region itself. Among those in attendance were FAU President Frank Brogan, Tony Fernandez, a leader in the Hispanic community in South Florida, Motorola Executive Rey Moré, Millie Vélez of the North Broward Hospital District, Hispanic Unity Representative Josie Bacallao, Maria Soldani of Holy Cross Hospital, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters Dean William A. Covino, Broward County Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin and faculty from CLAS.

Several business leaders at the meeting expressed an interest in funding FAU scholarships for enhanced study and research abroad in the fields of healthcare, healthcare administration, business and entrepreneurship, and communication. Fernandez, an immigrant to the United States, explained that he feels he has "both an opportunity and responsibility" to foster understanding and cooperation between North America and other cultures. He believes that this understanding can be accomplished through research and study at the University level.

"This partnership between FAU and the business community is compelling to businesses in two ways," said Rey Moré, senior vice president and general manager at Motorola. "First, it will help businesses to better penetrate Caribbean and Latin American markets through better prepared employees. Second, it will help employees and associates with a Caribbean and Latin American background to be more engaged in business here."

Luis Duno-Gottberg, assistant professor at FAU and the new director of the CLAS program, made a presentation of the many facets of the program, as well as the future vision for CLAS. The program has been in existence for almost 30 years with the goal of providing students and the community with a knowledge and understanding of Caribbean and Latin American heritage and culture. Students have the opportunity to pursue upper level study in several disciplines including anthropology, political science, languages and linguistics, history, geography, women's studies and business. This study occurs not only in South Florida but also on site through FAU's field study program in the Andes and in Ecuador.

Public programs within LAS have included lectures by visiting scholars, art exhibitions with visiting Latin American artists, a Latin American music festival, film festivals (which to date have included a Colombian film festival and a Venezuelan film festival), an annual Maya Hieroglyphic Studies Workshop and a Fiesta Maya. Plans for 2005-2006 include a Caribbean Symposium with Enrico Santi, an Argentinian Film Festival, a symposium on Quechua language and literature from the Andes, and a lecture and concert on the Latino-American guitar.

"It is vital to create relationships between educational entities and the South Florida community for a better understanding of local healthcare," said Millie Vélez, director of multicultural affairs for the North Broward Hospital District. "Universities need to equip tomorrow's workforce with a better understanding of language and culture to serve the multicultural community in which we live."

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