The University of Wisconsin-Madison has just launched a new hub for Puerto Rican Studies, thanks to the work of CLS affiliate faculty member Jorell Meléndez-Badillo and core faculty member Aurora Santiago-Ortiz (Gender & Women’s Studies). The pair secured a $3 million grant to fund three years of programming, including symposia, lecturers, and musical performances, and much more, as well as post-doctoral fellowships. The first center of its kind in the Midwest, the Hub will educate the public and enrich conversations on campus and in the community about Puerto Rico and its diaspora. Its roots go back to 1987, when a UW-Madison steering committee on minority affairs recommended the creation of a center on campus for Puerto Rican Studies. Longtime History professor and CLS affiliate Francisco Scarano did much during his distinguished career to advance the field, especially with his book Puerto Rico: Cinco Siglos de Historia. The Hub’s inaugural event attracted some 200 people to the Great Hall in Memorial Union and featured an interactive performance by Los Pleneros de La Cresta, in which audience members took up traditional drums and joined the group to play plena music. The event attracted coverage from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and the Wisconsin State-Journal, and the Badger Herald. On October 28th, the Center will present Prof. Scarano himself in a lecture that will initiate a series named in his honor.