The UF Latin American Studies Alumni Board is made up of alumni who have focused on Latin America during their studies at UF. Its members include those who completed the undergraduate certificate or minor in Latin American Studies, the MALAS degree or graduate certificate, as well as others completing Masters theses or Ph.D. dissertations on Latin America. The mission of the UF Latin American Studies Alumni Board is to cultivate stronger relationships between Latinamericanist alumni and the Center, enhance the quantity and quality of the Center’s program offerings, build the prestige of the Center both nationally and internationally, and assist in acquiring the resources needed to accomplish those goals.
Activities
The inaugural meeting of the UF Latin American Studies Alumni Board was held in October 2005. It was attended by eight MALAS alumni, primarily from the Gainesville area. There are now more than 55 LAS Alumni Board members. The affairs of the Board are handled by a Steering Committee consisting of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Chairs of standing committees. The standing committees are the Corporate Relations Committee and the Development Committee. The following alumni serve on the Steering Committee:
President: José Sariego (BS 1977, Miami)
Vice President: Steven Keats (BA/Certificate 1977, Miami)
Secretary: Meredith Fensom (JD/MALAS 2004)
Corporate Relations Committee Chair: Kathy Newman (BA/BS 1976, Miami)
Development Committee Chair: Stephen Walroth-Sadurní (BS/Certificate 1980, Miami)
Please contact Philip Williams, Center Director, if you are interested in joining the LAS Alumni Board and serving on one of its committees.
Please send your news for inclusion in the Center’s newsletter and on our website by completing the Alumni Update Form. Address changes can also be submitted via this form and you can indicate if you would like to join the LAS Alumni Board or receive the Center’s newsletter, The Latinamericanist, in print or e-mail form.
The Center is dependent on alumni support to maintain and enhance its exceptional, multidisciplinary programming for the next generation of Latinamericanists. During UF’s annual appeal, please consider earmarking your tax deductible contribution to the Center for Latin American Studies. The LAS Alumni Board created the Graduate Student Travel Fund in response to the lack of travel funding for graduate students to present papers at professional meetings or to complete internships. To make a donation to this fund or to the Center’s unrestricted fund, which supports so many of the Center’s special activities, visit Contributing to the Center.
Recognizing the importance of internships to students’ professional training and future careers, the Alumni Board is developing a network of interested alums to create new opportunities for UF students. Previously, the LABE program had two corporate-sponsored paid internships, through Prudential Real Estate Investors in Brazil (the result of a $75,000 grant) and through Motorola. If you currently hold a position with an organization that focuses on Latin American issues and that can sponsor student interns (paid or unpaid), whether in the US or Latin America, the Center is very interested in learning about these opportunities. Please contact the Center’s Associate Director for Outreach and LABE, Mary Risner, at mrisner@latam.ufl.edu.