The Provost recently announced that the University of Houston has been selected to become headquarters to the Inter University Program for Latino Research (IUPLR) beginning in 2018 and lasting for five years. The IUPLR is a national consortium of 25 university-based Latino research centers, with the overarching purpose of addressing the pressing issues that impact Latino communities. Dr. Nicolás Kanellos, Brown Foundation Professor of Hispanic Studies, will serve as the Executive Director of the consortium.
The national Latino population represents one in every eight Americans and is our largest demographic at UH, representing 29% of our student population. By hosting IUPLR, one goal is to expand the university’s pool of Latino scholars and leaders; establish projects with scholars in the arts, STEM, social sciences, health, culture, and the humanities fields; foster research collaboratives between faculty; and support the work that strengthens and serves Latino communities.
In addition to serving as Executive Director of the consortium, Dr. Nicolás Kanellos will also collaborate with the Center for Mexican American Studies to further the goals of the IUPLR and promote further research on Latinos.
“We have a highly recognized core of accomplished Latino scholars on campus who are poised to take national leadership in a wide range of disciplines. But it was especially through the leadership of Provost Paula M. Short, and her support of the Center Mexican American Studies and UH’s Arte Público Press, that we were able to win this designation that will redound to the benefit of our students and professors,” says Dr. Kanellos.