Institute for Cuban Studies

The Institute for Cuban Studies (ICS) at Florida International University (FIU) is dedicated to creating and disseminating knowledge about Cuba and its diaspora. The institute encourages original research and interdisciplinary teaching, organizes extracurricular activities, collaborates with other academic units working in Cuban and Cuban American studies, and promotes the development of library holdings and collections on Cuba and its diaspora. Founded in 1991, ICS is a freestanding entity within FIU's [Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs](http://sipa.fiu.edu/). Located in Miami, 228 miles from Havana and amidst the largest Cuban diaspora in the world, ICS is the nation's premier center for academic research and public programs on Cuban and Cuban American issues. No other U.S. university surpasses FIU in the number of professors and students of Cuban origin. Since its foundation, the institute has generated an exceptional level of scholarship, teaching, and outreach. ICS has organized hundreds of academic and cultural events, covering Cuban and Cuban American history, politics, society, and the arts. ICS engages FIU students, faculty, and members of the greater South Florida community through a stimulating series of conferences, panel discussions, lectures, book presentations, film screenings, and concerts. The public events and activities sponsored by the institute are made possible by grants and gifts by private foundations, nonprofit organizations, community members, and the state of Florida. ICS has received major support from reputable foundations, including Ford, MacArthur, Andrew W. Mellon, Open Society, Christopher Reynolds, Rockefeller, and Tinker, as well as from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Science Foundation. The institute currently administers four scholarship programs to support Cuban and Cuban American studies: the ICS Cuban Studies Scholarship, the Díaz-Ayala Library Travel Grants, the José Antonio Echeverría Scholarship, and the Eliana Rivero Research Scholarship. ICS is a longtime member of the [Inter-University Program for Latino Research (IUPLR)](https://www.iuplr.org/), a national consortium of twenty-one university-based centers dedicated to broadening the Latino intellectual presence in the United States. Participating in this network facilitates cooperation with other academic programs that support Latino students and faculty in higher education and expand the pool of Latino scholars and leaders. More recently, ICS joined the [Crossing Latinidades Humanities Research Initiative](https://lals.uic.edu/research-in-lals/crossing-latinidades-humanities-initiative/), headquartered at the University of Illinois at Chicago. This consortium of twenty Hispanic-serving public research universities, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, provides numerous research opportunities for Latino graduate students and faculty members. We invite you to explore our website, which provides information on our upcoming events, faculty affiliates, certificate program, research resources, and extracurricular activities. It also includes basic information about the Cuban American community and links to resources about U.S.-Cuba relations. We hope this website helps deepen your understanding of the historic changes occurring on the island and in the diaspora, which are shaping Cuba's possible futures. The mission of the Cuban Research Institute (CRI) is to create and disseminate knowledge about Cuba and its diaspora. This mission focuses on FIU's student body, which boasts the largest number of undergraduate students of Cuban origin of any university outside Cuba, as well as the broader academic community and the Greater Miami area. To accomplish this mission, CRI has developed a wide range of academic programs and activities: - Supporting faculty and graduate student research - Organizing academic conferences, panel discussions, and lectures - Sponsoring public events (book presentations, film screenings, exhibitions, and concerts) of interest to the community - Facilitating the participation of faculty experts in public discussion, media coverage, and public policy formulation on issues regarding Cuba and its diaspora - Enriching the educational experience offered to undergraduate and graduate students at the university, especially though the expansion of course offerings on Cuba or Cuban Americans - Nurturing the growth in the number of faculty at the university with expertise in Cuban and Cuban American studies - Fostering the publication of faculty research on Cuban and Cuban American issues - Making FIU an international and national hub of scholarly activity in relation to Cuba and its diaspora - Assisting in the development and dissemination of the Cuba-related holdings and collections of the University's [Green Library](https://library.fiu.edu/), [Frost Art Museum](http://thefrost.fiu.edu/), and [Wolfsonian–FIU](http://www.wolfsonian.org/)