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To the CLACS communities;It is with great sadness that we deliver to you the heartbreaking news of the passing of our colleague and friend, Dr. Carl Deal. Our most sincere condolences go to his wife Yolanda, their children and their families. Dr. Carl Deal was the first Latin American and Caribbean Librarian at our university. He held the positions of Latin American Librarian (1965-83) and Director of Library Collections (1983- 94), and was also the Interim Director of CLACS in 1972 and 1973. Carl was instrumental in the expansion of the Latin American collection and created a system that assured copies of newly released titles were acquired. Under his leadership, the University Latin American and Caribbean collection grew, and achieved the prominent position it still maintains among university Latin American collections. Carl was an extraordinary and generous person, with a great vision for our university library and center. He will be profoundly missed, but his legacy will remain. |
Welcome to the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies!
Bienvenido / Boas-vindas / Pasaykamuy / Walik Purinipxtaxa
Latin America has been the focus of research at the University of Illinois since as early as 1904, with a Latin American Studies major being established in 1949, and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) being created in 1963. In a consortium with the University of Chicago, CLACS is a Title VI National Resource Center, receiving continuous funding since 1976 from the U.S. Department of Education. Since 2009, CLACS houses the Lemann Institute for Brazilian Studies, one of only three in the country. With additional financial support from the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship (also from the Department of Education), the College of LAS, as well as private institutional (Tinker, uninterrupted since 1980) and individual funds (Kilby Fellowship, Love Fellowship, Whitten Fund), CLACS promotes research and teaching on Latin America, as well as sponsors conferences, symposia, colloquia, the Latin American Film Festival, and outreach programs.
By supporting and promoting the missions of the university for innovation in research, teaching, and global engagement, CLACS fosters spaces of academic and cultural exchange between scholars, students, and regional K-14 instructors, with communities of the Americas. At UIUC, more than 1000 students take yearly courses on Latin America, Portuguese and Quechua courses. Supported by the Title VI grant, CLACS is one of a handful of universities in the world that offers all levels of Quechua instruction, in class and online, with materials used widely across the globe and created by our Quechua instructor, Clodoaldo Soto. In close collaboration with our highly-ranked Latin American and Caribbean Studies Library, and engaging over 120 faculty CLACS-affiliates from across campus, CLACS additionally promotes focused and interdisciplinary research by hosting speakers and visiting scholars, and by supporting faculty with grants to develop curricula, and faculty and students to do fieldwork and research in situ, enhancing in this way their academic and transcultural experiences. Through its activities and academic programs, CLACS engages in promoting transcultural and global competence, alongside social responsibility.
Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS)
201 International Studies Building, MC-481
910 S. Fifth Street, Champaign, IL 61820Phone: (217) 333-3182, Fax: (217) 244-7333
E-mail: clacs@illinois.edu; Facebook: @CLACSatUIUC; Twitter: @CLACS_at_UIUC