Center for Latin American Studies Receives $1 Million Gift from BU Alumni
The Center for Latin American Studies of the Frederick S. Pardee School recently received a generous gift of $1 million from Boston University alums Antonio Gomes (LAW’96), who is also a BU trustee, and Dean’s Advisory Board member Maria Cristina Dos Santos De Souza (Pardee’20). The Maria Cristina Dos Santos De Souza Endowment will greatly enhance the work of the center and its visibility at BU and beyond.
“Although Latin American countries bear the deleterious effects of colonization until today, each of them has developed singular ways to overcome those effects through ethnic and cultural exchanges throughout their history,” the donors say. “We decided to support the center as we believe that scholarship on Latin America will help societies with a colonial past identify enduring consequences of colonization and reimagine the present by integrating their historical experiences of exploitation and resilience that still frame social attitudes today.”
Established in 2017, the Center for Latin American Studies brings together faculty specializing in Latin American scholarship at Boston University and offers students opportunities to foster an in-depth and interdisciplinary understanding of the region. To ensure a highly collaborative environment, the center organizes a wide variety of events, including talks, lectures, round-table discussions, and conferences throughout the academic year. Concerts, film screenings, and field trips are some of the other activities on the center’s calendar, and these offer additional windows into understanding the region’s cultural and social identities.
“Latin America plays an increasingly essential role in public conversations on everything from immigration to trade policy to culture and politics,” says Dean Scott Taylor. “By supporting the center’s work, this generous gift will amplify BU’s voice on the global stage”
Director of the Center for Latin American Studies, Professor Ana María Reyes expressed gratitude to Gomes and Dos Santos De Souza for their remarkable generosity. She said that this gift will bolster the center’s current scholarly work and programming while creating an endowment that facilitates the expansion of its mission in transformative ways.
“We look forward to increased intellectual exchange, creativity, and community collaboration, both locally and globally, and opportunities to host more scholars, artists, and activists from Latin America and the Caribbean,” says Reyes. “This way, the center can fully deliver on its approach to Latin America, not just as a region to be analyzed but as a vital site of innovation, resilience, and inspiration.”