June 2019
Dear US Latino/a/x Studies and ISU Intersecting Communities,
It has been an incredible year of connections, collaborations, and invention. The
Latino/a Studies Program minors have grown exponentially, and the enthusiasm for this kind of
intellectual inquiry, community building, and social work has been nothing less than inspiring.
We have new members on our faculty, Dr. Mimi Wagner from The College of Design and
Dr. Erin Doran from the School of Ed. Dr. Wagner’s work in Marshalltown, after the tornado,
signifies important networking and learning possibilities for our students and signals the strong
cross disciplinary nature of the USLS Program. This summer, our summer internship scholarship
for work with Dr. Wagner has gone to our USLS minor, Jazmin Diaz. We will get to hear all about
her experience in the fall during the USLS 25 Year Anniversary Symposium.
USLS is happy to announce its second year partnership with PILA (Association of Iowa
Latinx Professionals) at the Iowa Department of Human Rights. This critical collaboration with
its director Sonia Reyes-Snyder, provides an ideal community and leadership learning
opportunity for our students. This year’s summer internship scholarships went to our minors
Ana Mier and Alexandra Foster.
The USLS Rising Stars Pilot Program has sent three USLS minors, Kacey Berry, David
Vega, and Anlis Mercado-Rios to Sioux City to continue their internships in yet another Latinx
community of Iowa.
We have said good bye to one of our founding teachers, Dr. Eugenio Matibag, who has
retired in order to hone his guitar playing skills, travel the world, and read books. Please see his
special faculty feature to learn more from his perspective of his career and work. And please be
sure to send him a note if you were a student or colleague. Staying in touch is especially
important to us all in the program.
The USLS Program has received generous cross-campus support, of over $25,000. to
celebrate its 25 Year Anniversary Symposium with students, staff, and faculty. In addition, the
Program will be celebrating its first official documentary film festival with Parks library and an
informative, truly ground breaking art exhibit at the Multicultural Center. Please save the date,
register, and join us on September 28, 2019 at the Memorial Union. I look forward to this
unique date of celebration, reflection, and connection about the importance of Latino/a Studies
on our campus, in our local community, throughout Iowa, and nationally. We will also welcome
renown intellectuals from the Midwest and California sharing their work on stereotypes and
their wisdom directing Latino/a/x Programs of their own.
Click here for details! https://language.iastate.edu/usls25/
In short, it continues to be an honor to direct this program and lead our students, faculty,
and staff into new ways of being connected, included, and impactful. Please be sure to surf our
web page to see special features on students, classes, and faculty. And please be sure to join us in
this wonderful human adventure of community building, learning about the vastness of
Latino/a/x Studies.
Thanks for a fabulous year, happy summer, and I can’t wait to see everyone again in the
Fall semester 2019!
Warmest regards,
Dr. Lucía M. Suárez