About

History

The Institute for the Study of Latin American and the Caribbean (ISLAC) at the University of South Florida (USF) began as a faculty initiative in 1995 in order to support a USAID-funded training program for Latin American community organizers, and to coordinate and facilitate research and teaching in and about Latin America and the Caribbean. ISLAC is comprised of approximately 70 faculty members and staff whose work is focused on the region across campus. Our constituency currently includes USF students (approx. 46,000), the Greater Tampa Bay community (especially but not exclusively the large Hispanic and Caribbean-origin population), and other leaders, scholars and students—in the United States as well as in Latin America and the Caribbean-- who are engaged in diverse activities in and about the region. ISLAC counts on 2 advisory committees, namely the faculty advisory committee, composed of engaged affiliated faculty members and ISLAC staff; as well as the community relations committee, composed of the ISLAC director and Tampa Bay Latin / Caribbean community members.

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