University of Connecticut, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies Records

The Center for Latin American and Carribean Studies was formed in 1974 through the work of History Professor Hugh Hamill. Initially the Center for Latin American Studies, the program was the first area studies program at the university, having begun in the late 1940s by professors in the Spanish and Sociology departments. With its formal establishment in 1974 the center allowed students the opportunity to engage in Latin American Studies through undergraduate and graduate study for the first time. In 1984 the center added Caribbean to its name in order to more fully represent the scope of its academic programs. Since its emergence, the program has drawn on faculty members from across the university to teach and promote Latin American and Carribean studies.