Lasell University faculty scholarship and international partnerships took center stage at the 33^rd Annual conference of the Association of Academic Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean held in Tucson, Arizona last month. Professor of Cultural Studies and Global Studies Instructor Stephanie Athey completed her second term as Association president by organizing this hybrid international event, carried in simultaneous Spanish/English interpretation to participants in Iceland, India, Antigua, many parts of Latin America, and the United States. 

“The keynote appearance of the UN Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on the Rights of Indigenous People is an enormous coup for the Association and also for Lasell. Lasell’s international partnerships and innovative work on equity and inclusion shared the spotlight with the UNSR, José Francisco Calí Tzay (Maya Kaqchikel), whose work in Guatemala and on the UN Committee to Eliminate Racial Discrimination is well known,” says Athey, director of Lasell’s Mexico Shoulder to Shoulder program. Indigenous initiatives were a central conference theme. 

Associate Professor of Psychology Charlotte Frazier shared “Identity, Interrupted: Using a Critical Lens of Racial Identity, Intersectionality, and Social Justice in the Curriculum Mapping of International Study Programs for BIPOC Students.” Faculty involved in Lasell’s Shoulder to Shoulder international service learning programs also shared presentations: José Guzman, associate professor of Spanish, shared: “Living with an Indigenous Community: How Two Weeks of Service Learning Can Change a Student’s Life,” and Associate Professor of Education Amy Maynard presented on the University’s partnership with Antiguan instructor Sacha Mills Sendy Vaughn Suazo, associate director of graduate enrollment and corporate partnerships, presented on ties she is building to Honduras in “Transnationalism in the Garifuna and Afrodescendiente Communities and Its Impact.” 

The Journal for Borderlands Studies has invited a proposal to publish selected proceedings, work that would showcase Lasell’s partnerships to an even wider audience. 

The Donahue Institute for Equity and Social Justice enabled the Lasell community to attend virtual conference sessions at no charge and secured a recording of the proceedings for educational use.