What is the Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies (CLACS) at Illinois?

Updated

CLACS is the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. It serves students, faculty, and scholars across the campus, as well as communities across Illinois and the Midwest, by promoting innovative research, specialist teaching, and public awareness of the Latin American and Caribbean region. It is a designated National Resource Center for the 2022–2026 period, supported by the U.S. Department of Education under Title VI funding.

What CLACS does

The center's stated mission covers three connected areas:

  • Research — supporting innovative scholarship on Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • Teaching — offering specialist instruction and resources for students and faculty.
  • Public awareness — engaging audiences beyond campus, including communities across Illinois and the Midwest.

Because it holds National Resource Center status under Title VI, CLACS is part of a federally supported network of area studies centers, which typically carry obligations around outreach, language and area training, and public programming.

Who it serves

Audience How CLACS relates to them
Students Specialist teaching and resources on the region
Faculty and scholars A base for research collaboration and faculty recognition
Communities in Illinois and the Midwest Public programming and awareness of Latin American and Caribbean issues

Faculty and scholarship highlights

The center's homepage spotlights current faculty achievements, which give a sense of the research areas it covers:

  • Gisela Sin, Professor of Political Science, CLACS Director, and current Acting Director of the Illinois Global Institute, received the Jewell-Loewenberg Prize from the American Political Science Association's Legislative Studies Section for "Line-item Vetoes as a Coordination Mechanism," named Best Article in Comparative Politics in Legislative Studies Quarterly (2025).
  • Marc Hertzman, Professor of History, was named a 2026–2027 University Scholar. His work focuses on Brazil and Latin America, including race, the African diaspora, culture, slavery and its legacies, labor, and gender. His 2024 book After Palmares won the American Historical Association's 2025 James A. Rawley Prize in Atlantic History and the Brazilian Studies Association's 2026 Roberto Reis Book Award.
  • Ramón Soto-Crespo was named the James M. Benson Professor.

Getting involved

The site offers several entry points: subscribing to the CLACS newsletter, connecting with the center, and options to donate or access community resources. If you are a student or faculty member looking for regional expertise, a community organization seeking programming, or a researcher tracking Latin American and Caribbean scholarship, the newsletter and the "Connect with CLACS" links are the most direct starting points.