From the Director
2020-21
For over 20 years the Institute for Latino Studies has enriched Notre Dame’s intellectual life for students, staff, faculty, and alumni. It is a privilege to continue this work with the full support of University leaders.
The COVID-19 pandemic placed great challenges on all of us throughout the 2020-21 academic year. Nonetheless, it also allowed us to develop our sophistication in using online platforms to continue our work. As you can read below, these included events related to Hispanic Heritage Month, supporting faculty research, our Young Scholars Symposium, the offering of over 20 classes that impacted over 750 students, continuing our work with the two-way immersion program at Holy Cross School, and graduating the first cohort of Latino Studies Scholars Program (LSSP) scholars. We also selected ten Latino Studies Scholars who will be first-year students in Fall 2021. This is the largest cohort of Latino Studies Scholars Program students ever. We are proud to provide you with this report.”
—ILS Director Luis Fraga, Rev. Donald P. McNeill, C.S.C., Professor of Transformative Latino Leadership and the Joseph and Elizabeth Robbie Professor of Political Science
MISSION
The Institute for Latino Studies advances understanding of the fastest-growing and youngest population in the United States and the U.S. Catholic Church.
ILS strengthens the University of Notre Dame’s mission to prepare transformative leaders in all sectors including the professions, arts, business, politics, faith, and family life among Latinos and all members of our society.
VISION
To foster a deeper understanding of Latino communities to empower faculty, students, society — all of us —to make better strategic decisions as to what kind of a country we want to leave for our children and grandchildren.
The Institute strives to achieve its mission by providing faculty and student support in the areas of Research, Academics, Leadership, Community Engagement, and Latino Spirituality.
RESEARCH
ILS fosters and develops research in Latino Studies by faculty experts from numerous disciplines, positioning them as thought leaders throughout the U.S. and the world.
Faculty Highlights
Tatiana Reinoza, an assistant professor in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design won the 2021 Schulman and Bullard Article Prize from the Association of Print Scholars for her essay, “War at Home: Conceptual Iconoclasm in American Printmaking” in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's exhibition catalogue Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now.
Timothy Matovina, professor and chair of the Department of Theology made the Commonweal Editors’ Choice Best Articles of the Year List for 2020 for his article “‘Wipe Away Many Tears’: Guadalupe and the Story of America.”
Ricardo Martínez-Schuldt, an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology published "Immigrant Sanctuary Policies and Crime Reporting Behavior: A Multilevel Analysis of Reports of Crime Victimization to Law Enforcement, 1980-2004" in American Sociological Review, the top journal in the field.
In April, Rev. Dan Groody, C.S.C., launched The Heart’s Desire & Listening for Vocation, a new Notre Dame podcast series to explore life’s meaning. Fr. Groody is vice president and associate provost and an associate professor of theology and global affairs.
Public Scholarship
On July 27, Luis Fraga, the Rev. Donald P. McNeill, C.S.C., Professor of Transformative Latino Leadership, testified via Zoom at the House of Representatives Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties hearing on “The Need to Enhance the Voting Rights Act: Practice-Based Coverage.”
Congress is considering amending section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 following a 2013 Supreme Court decision that eliminated preclearance rules. The issue gained steam after last year’s election.
In his opening statement, Fraga said:
Without a clear, strong commitment on the part of the federal government, one cannot depend on state and local jurisdictions to protect the voting rights of racial, ethnic, language minority and other historically marginalized voters.”
2020–21 FACULTY FELLOWS
- Thomas Anderson, Professor of Spanish, Romance Languages and Literatures
- Francisco Aragón, Associate Professor of the Practice (Poetry & Literature), Latino Studies
- Kraig Beyerlein, Associate Professor, Sociology
- Tatiana Botero,Teaching Professor of Spanish, Romance Languages and Literatures
- Alex E. Chávez, Nancy O'Neill Assistant Professor, Anthropology
- Yamil J Colón, ND B.S. ’09, Assistant Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- David Cortez, Assistant Professor, Political Science
- Luis Ricardo Fraga, Rev. Donald P. McNeill, C.S.C., Professor of Transformative Latino Leadership and Joseph and Elizabeth Robbie Professor, Political Science
- Anne García-Romero, Associate Professor, Film, Television, and Theatre
- Rev. Daniel Groody, C.S.C., ND B.A. ’86; ND Fellow and Trustee; Vice President and Associate Provost; Associate Professor, Theology and Global Affairs
- Jimmy Gurulé, Professor, Law
- Carlos A. Jáuregui, Associate Professor, Romance Languages and Literatures
- Amy Langenkamp, O'Shaughnessy Associate Professor of Education, Sociology
- Katy Walter Lichon, Assistant Professor of the Practice, Alliance for Catholic Education
- David M. Lantigua, ND Ph.D. ’12, Assistant Professor, Theology
- Ricardo Martinez-Schuldt, Assistant Professor, Sociology
- Timothy Matovina, Professor and Chair, Theology
- Orlando Menes, Professor, English
- Erin Moira Lemrow, Assistant Advising Professor, College of Arts and Letters
- Nydia Morales-Soto, Program Director, Eck Institute for Global Health
- Marisel Moreno, Associate Professor, Romance Languages and Literatures
- Darcia Narvaez, Professor, Psychology
- Jaime Pensado, Associate Professor, History
- Juanita Pinzón Caicedo, Assistant Professor of Mathematics
- Sarah Quesada, Assistant Professor, English
- Ricardo Ramírez, Associate Professor, Political Science
- Tatiana Reinoza, Assistant Professor, Art, Art History, & Design
- Karen Richman, Professor of the Practice (Cultural Anthropology), Latino Studies
- Francisco Robles, Assistant Professor, English
- Jason Ruiz, Associate Professor and Chair, American Studies
- Maria Tomasula, Michael P. Grace Professor, Art, Art History & Design
- Thomas Tweed, W. Harold and Martha Welch Professor, American Studies
- Leonor Wangensteen, Associate Advising Professor, College of Engineering
Young Scholars Symposium
The Young Scholars Symposium is an annual ILS initiative that convenes young scholars who are working on a dissertation, a book, or another research project related to Latinas and Latinos in the United States. Participants are chosen through a national call for applicants.
Seven up-and-coming scholars from across the country, along with distinguished professor Charlene Villaseñor Black of UCLA, headlined the Young Scholars Symposium at the Institute for Latino Studies this past Spring.
Villaseñor Black’s lecture, entitled “Thinking about Migration through Latinx Art”, was held on March 18 and is available for public viewing on the ILS YouTube channel. A professor of Art History and Chicana/o Studies and Central American Studies, she publishes on a range of topics related to Chicanx studies, contemporary Latinx art, and the early modern Iberian world.
The seven young scholars presenting who presented research this year were:
- Guillermo Avilés-Rodríguez, Ph.D. Candidate in Theatre and Performance Studies (University of California, Los Angeles)
- Amanda Figueroa, Ph.D. in American Studies (Harvard University)
- Juan Pablo Mercado, History Department Faculty (Chabot College)
- Tatiana Reinoza, Assistant Professor of Art History (Notre Dame)
- Carlos Rivas, Ph.D. Candidate in Art History (University of California, Los Angeles)
- Alexis Salas, Assistant Professor of Art History (New Mexico State University)
- Rose Salseda, Assistant Professor of Art (Stanford University)
The ILS Graduate Student Working Group convenes young scholars from multiple disciplines to share their research, address issues affecting Latino communities, and develop a national professional network in a growing field of experts.
"The workshop series with ILS was one of my most intellectually stimulating and motivating experiences at Notre Dame. Not only did I have the opportunity to learn about interdisciplinary perspectives from my fellow group members; I also presented key sections of my own dissertation work and garnered specific, one-on-one feedback from scholars in diverse fields. The atmosphere was as warm and supportive as it was constructive and productive. I hope the ILS continues to organize working groups for the scholastic growth of its graduate students."
—KC Barrientos, ’21 Ph.D. in Spanish and Portuguese Literatures
ACADEMICS
ILS is a premier teaching and curricular institute at Notre Dame and serves as a model and leader among institutes of its kind across the nation.
ENGAGING COURSEWORK
A sampling of recent courses
Borderlands Art and Theory • Race & Policing in the U.S. • On the Move: Migration in American Literature • Latinos in the Future of America • Latinos in U.S. Politics • Dangerous Reads: Banned U.S. Latinx Literature
AWARD-WINNING TEACHING
Law School Professor and ILS faculty fellow Jimmy Gurulé was selected as the 2021 Professor of the Year by the graduating class. During his commencement speech, his main message to the newly minted law graduates was to follow the Christian imperative of serving others.
I want to exhort each of the graduates today to take on a complex problem of equal justice and systemic inequities and become a specialist on it. It will be one of the greatest experiences of your lives."
Jacob Fries ’21
- Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
- Majors: Environmental Science and Latino Studies
“I am forever grateful I decided to join the Latino Studies community. Through the mentorship I’ve received, the incredible experience of participating in CCLP in Chicago, and all my coursework, I’ve developed cultural competency and language skills that I’m sure will be beneficial moving forward.
After graduation, I will be moving to Washington D.C. for a year of service through AmeriCorps, where I will be working with the Washington AIDS Partnership, a group seeking to promote HIV/AIDS education and testing to lower the prevalence of the disease in the district.
In the future, I hope to pursue a career in public health to close the gap in health disparities that impact Latino/a populations in the U.S."
LEADERSHIP
ILS develops transformative leaders with a depth of understanding about the capacity of Latino communities to enrich all aspects of American society.
One of our signature leadership initiatives is the Latino Studies Scholars Program, started in 2017. Students receive a $100,000 scholarship over four years in addition to summer internship or research dollars. There are six students in the inaugural cohort who graduated in May.
In total there are nineteen LSSP merit scholars on campus, including a record six in the most recent class of 2024, each receiving a merit award for their demonstrated track record of leadership addressing issues critical to the future of Latinx communities in the United States.
Latino Studies Scholars Program Graduates
The six members of the inaugural LSSP cohort reflect a broad range of academic interests, each bringing a unique perspective through which to tackle issues faced by Latinos across the country. The 2021 graduates pictured include:
- Aaron Benavides, a political science major with minors in theology, digital marketing, and journalism, ethics, and democracy from Corpus Christi, Texas
- Jisel Gomez, a neuroscience and behavior and Latino studies major from Mundelein, Illinois
- Kelly Liang, an accounting and political science major from Miami, Florida
- Stacy Manrique, a Reilly dual-degree student majoring in computer science and film, television, and theatre with a minor in Latino studies from McAllen, Texas
- Alejandra Osorio, a science preprofessional major from Santa Ana, California
- Diego Reynoso, an economics and political science major from Elkhart, Indiana
Jisel Gomez ’21
ILS was one of the main reasons Jisel Gomez chose to come to Notre Dame. The decision was not easy as she had to turn down a full ride elsewhere, closer to home, where her parents were secretly hopeful she would attend.
She credits mentors such as ILS Director and Professor of Political Science Luis Fraga, recalling his Transformative Leadership seminar as fundamental to convincing her of her own potential.
Nathalie Garcia ’23
Upon arriving to campus, I felt that I already had a scholarly family to come home to thanks to the ILS. I am grateful for the opportunity to establish myself as a leader in the Latino community and for the unconditional support from Paloma, Prof. Fraga, and all of our ILS family. This scholarship has added perspective to my first two years at Notre Dame. I have used my time and talents to conduct research that strengthens the Latino community."
The fifth cohort of the Latino Studies Scholars Program was selected in partnership with the Office of Enrollment and the ND Scholars Program. The 2025 class of Latino Studies Scholars includes 10 students from 7 different states with a wide array of academic interests.
- Nadxielli Arredondo — Film, Television, and Theater
- Ana Cristina Bailey — International Economics - Romance Languages
- David Barrera — Mechanical Engineering
- Andres De la Garza — Business Analytics
- Alessandra Gonzalez — Accountancy
- Angel Gonzalez Rodriguez — Mechanical Engineering
- Jasmine Peña Ramirez — Political Science
- Sbeydi Ponce Duarte — Arts and Letters Pre-Health
- Josue Rocha — Political Science
- Daisy Santos — Chemical Engineering
Cross-Cultural Leadership Program
This summer, 23 Notre Dame students completed 8-week, full-time, virtual internships at local and national organizations as part of the Cross Cultural Leadership Program. Students in this three-credit, summer course organized by ILS walked away with hands-on service learning experience and critical study led by ILS Director & Donald P. McNeill Endowed Professor of Political Science Luis Fraga.
This year’s placements included longtime partners such as the United Farm Workers Foundation and UnidosUS—who hosted 4 undergraduates—as well as new sites in Indiana, such as the St. Joseph County Department of Health, Proteus Inc. and the Alianza Community Schools of Indianapolis. In total, 19 organizations partnered with ILS to provide virtual internship opportunities. Each nonprofit organization worked closely with ILS and the selected students to develop their interests and skills.
Kendra Lyimo ’24
- Hometown: Gibbon, Minnesota
- Major: Art History with an Africana Studies minor
- Placement: Self Help Graphics (Los Angeles)
I have a deep love for Italian art from the Renaissance and Baroque periods; however, through a recent research opportunity, I developed a passion for contemporary African and Afro-Latinx prints. Through the ILS’s Cross Cultural Leadership Program, I learned how the fine art world can better serve and represent diverse communities.”
Nicholas Crookston ’23
- Hometown: Muncie, Indiana
- Major: Political Science and Global Affairs with a Latino Studies Minor
- Placement: United Farm Workers (Los Angeles)
I grew up in a large, blended, multiracial, multiethnic family—the village that raised me. That village includes my mother, an immigrant from Colombia who came to this country a year before I was born. My identity and upbringing have cultivated a deep personal passion for learning about the experiences of Latino immigrants here in the U.S., and doing all that I can to advocate for them and their rights."
Claudia Rivera Alvarez-Tabio ’23
- Hometown: Miami, Florida
- Major: Anthropology and Global Affairs
- Placement: National Museum of Mexican Art
Through my experience of the cross-cultural leadership program, I learned more about museum and non-profit work in a different type of Latino community than the one I grew up in. To this internship and class, I brought my enthusiasm, desire to curate an impactful, educative experience for museum goers, and experience both working in a museum and working in research to deepen my knowledge of the broader Latino Community.”
Angelica Ruiz ’22
- Hometown: Los Angeles-area, California
- Major: Sociology and Latino Studies with an Anthropology minor
- Placement: UnidosUS (Washington, D.C.)
I’m especially interested in topics such as immigration and education and hope to continue this passion by pursuing a Ph.D. in Sociology. I hope to use this degree to help underserved communities of color dealing with issues surrounding education and immigration.”
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
ILS provides year-round programming to the broader ND community and South Bend. As 11.5% of the undergraduate population identifies as Latina/o/x (not including international students or DACA recipients), ILS scholarly activities strive to meet the demand for inclusive programming on campus.
Despite a uniquely challenging semester, the Institute for Latino Studies successfully commemorated Hispanic Heritage Month with a series of 12 virtual events highlighting the contributions of Latinos in the United States as well as the issues facing the community this past election year.
From September 15th through October 15th, ILS offered talks on subjects ranging from the 2020 presidential campaign to the murals of Latinx Chicago to the aftermath of the El Paso massacre, among other topics.
In addition, undergraduate students were able to connect with Hispanic alumni successful in their professional careers, underscoring the vital networking opportunities the ILS provides its students. They were also able to learn about the Latino Studies supplementary major and minor during a separate virtual event.
The video recordings for Hispanic Heritage Month events are available as a playlist on our Youtube account, LatinoStudiesND.
Letras Latinas
The literary initiative at the Institute for Latino Studies (ILS), strives to enhance the visibility, appreciation and study of Latinx literature both on and off the campus of the University of Notre Dame.
Part love letter, part literary history, After Rubén spans decades and continents to pay lyrical homage to the eponymous muse behind the poetry and prose collection, the late 19th-century Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío.
To celebrate the book’s publication, the fruit of 10 years of writing, author Francisco Aragón and the Institute for Latino Studies, in collaboration with the Creative Writing Program, hosted a virtual book launch October 28th. Fellow writers Brenda Cárdenas, Maria Melendez Kelson, Michael Nava, Urayoán Noel, and Notre Dame MFA candidate Misael Osorio-Conde gave readings of their own work as well.
LATINO SPIRITUALITY
Today, more than half of young U.S. Catholics are Hispanic/Latino. While three-quarters of U.S. Catholics born before Vatican II identify as non-Hispanic Whites, 54 percent of Catholic millennials are Hispanic or Latino.
ILS seeks to deepen the understanding of this population to help both Notre Dame students and leaders of the Church make decisions to improve the future of Latino communities. The Catholic Church is one of the most culturally diverse institutions in the United States and Catholic institutions and ministries need to adapt to growing diversity.
To achieve this goal, ILS partners with the National Symposium on Catholic Hispanic Ministry and the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL) to learn about justice and leadership through the lens of activist Catholic leaders in the Latinx community.
None of this work—from research and teaching to community engagement and Latino Spirituality—would be possible without our Advisory Board. We are grateful for their support and guidance.
First row from left to right: Jessica Pedroza '17, Lupe Eichelberger, ILS Director Luis Fraga, Joe Power, Ruben Berumen. Second row: Art Velasquez (ND Trustee Emeritus), Juan Rangel '15, Phil Eagan, Geoff Samora. Back: Tom McNeill, Ted Koury, Phil Fuentes (Chair), Edna Koury.
Peter S. Gonzales, ND ’16 and JD ’19, joins ILS Advisory Council
Peter S. Gonzales, a commercial litigation associate at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in Chicago, is the newest member of the Institute for Latino Studies (ILS) Advisory Council.
As a young alum on the council, he will advance Notre Dame’s mission by serving as an ambassador for ND in his community and profession. Specifically, he will provide counsel and professional expertise, advance research aims, leverage his networks to provide opportunities for students and graduates, and support University priorities, including those relevant to ILS.
It is my privilege to join the ILS Advisory Council,” Gonzales said. “As an undergraduate, the ILS gave me a feeling of comfort and support which could only come from the empowerment, recognition, celebration, pride, and study of the culture I hold dear. As a law student at ND, I continued to partner with ILS to deliver informative programming as president of the Hispanic Law Students Association.”
IN MEMORIAM
Jorge A. Bustamante, 82, the Eugene P. and Helen Conley Professor Emeritus of Sociology
Jorge A. Bustamante, the Eugene P. and Helen Conley Professor Emeritus of Sociology, died March 25. He was 82.
A sociologist whose research centered on the dynamics of international migration, Bustamante’s work advanced public and academic discourse regarding circumstances at the U.S.-Mexico border. His devotion to advocating for human and labor rights for immigrants worldwide led to his native Mexico nominating him for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.
Connect with us at latinostudies.nd.edu