The Latino Studies Program is the fruition of more than three decades of student activism and faculty engagement at Indiana University.

1971 - 1999

In 1971, Latino students and concerned faculty members began to denounce ongoing impediments to Latinos in higher education, including racial inequality, cultural insensitivity, and underrepresentation. Responding to their concerns, in 1973 Indiana University created the Office of Latino Affairs which offered services and programs to the Latino community and served as an advocate for Latina and Latino students and faculty. Horacio Lewis served as the first Assistant Dean and first Director of Latino Affairs from 1973-1976. That Office of Latino Affairs was open until the year 1999.

Latino scholarship at Indiana University advanced significantly in the 1970s. In 1973, Dr. Luis Dávila (IU Bloomington) and Dr. Nicolas Kanellos (IU Northwest) jointly published La Revista Chicano-Riqueña.

In 1976, Professor Dávila inaugurated the interdisciplinary Chicano-Riqueño Studies Program, dedicated to the study of Puerto Rican, Chicano, and other Spanish-speaking communities in the United States. That same year saw the first issue of Chiricú, a multilingual journal of Latina and Latino literature and literary criticism, which continues to be published annually.

Another valuable resource that emerged from student and faculty activism was the Latino Cultural Center, also known as La Casa. Since 1973, La Casa has been extremely active in fostering a sense of community among Latinxs, in promoting Latinx recruitment and retention, and in creating a broad awareness about Latinx issues. Under the direction of Lillian Casillas, La Casa offers a rich year-long program of events that are open to students, faculty, and the community.

1999

The Latino Studies Program opened its doors under the direction of Dr. Jorge Chapa in 1999, with a mission to offer Indiana University students an array of courses in various disciplines, focusing on the history, culture, and social condition of Latinx communities in the United States.

This objective has remained constant as the program has evolved and as student enrollment has grown. Professor Chapa worked closely with IU's Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) to institute a master’s degree area in Latino and Latin American Studies. He also designed our undergraduate minor in Latino Studies.

Latino Studies was housed in Sycamore Hall from 1999 to 2010.

2006 - 2010

Dr. John Nieto-Phillips, associate professor of history, was named interim director in July 2006.

He launched the program's undergraduate minor, as well as the previous Latino Studies website in August 2006. Dr. Arlene Diaz, associate professor of history, then became the director of Latino Studies from 2007 through 2010.

Dr. Diaz initiated and worked to establish the Ph.D. minor. In the fall of 2009, the Ph.D. minor became available as an option for students across multiple fields of study: social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, business, law, and education.

2010 to 2014

Dr. John Nieto-Phillips became the director of Latino Studies in the fall of 2010.

Also in 2010, Latino Studies moved to a house on 814 East Third Street.

In January 2013, Dr. Anke Birkenmaier, assistant professor of Spanish and Portuguese, was hired as the first associate director of Latino Studies.

2014 - present

In September 2014, Dr. Mintzi Martinez-Rivera took over as the associate director of Latino Studies.

In January 2015, Dr. Sylvia Martinez, associate professor of education, took over as the director of Latino Studies.

In July 2018, Dr. Alberto Varon, associate professor of English, took over as associate director of Latino Studies.

In July 2019, Dr. Alberto Varon took over as director of Latino Studies.

The Latino Studies Program would like to thank Dr. Alberto Torchinsky, professor emeritus in mathematics, whose meticulous history of the Office of Latino Affairs provided much of the information above.