TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved today the establishment of the Center for Cuba Collaboration and Scholarship at UA.
The new research center will build on the activities of the Alabama-Cuba Initiative, a 13-year effort to establish educational opportunities in Cuba for UA students and faculty. Both the center and the initiative efforts have been led by UA’s College of Arts and Sciences.
UA and Cuban educators and academic institutions have worked together since 2002, through an academic travel license from the U.S. Department of Treasury, which permits travel to Cuba for certain specific educational activities. More than 45 disciplines and departments, approximately 85 faculty, and nearly 75 graduate and undergraduate students at UA have participated in the initiative.
“The last 13 years have been highly productive for our students and faculty,” said Dr. Robert Olin, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “This new center allows us to dive deeper into those educational opportunities. The study of Cuba is indeed a growing research field, one for which we are prepared with our already established ties with our Cuban educational counterparts.”
The center, as approved by the board, will continue the development of scholarly activities for faculty and students with institutions and programs in Cuba. Its main focus will be to actively encourage authorized activities between UA faculty and students and their counterparts in Cuba.