CLS affiliate and budgeted faculty are prominent among those recently honored by the University with Vilas Awards. These include Aurora Santiago Ortiz (CLS/Gender & Women’s Studies) and Christopher Saldaña (Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis), who …
Spring 2026 Faculty/Staff Updates
Marla Ramírez’s “Banished Citizens” Attracts Further Acclaim, Awards
CLS faculty member Marla Ramírez’s Banished Citizens: A History of the Mexican American Women who Endured Repatriation continues to win awards and inspire acclaim from many different corners. The book chronicles the expulsion of nearly …
Marla Ramírez’s “Banished Citizens” Receives Award, Reaches Audiences Nationwide
Marla A. Ramírez’s Banished Citizens: A History of the Mexican American Women who Endured Repatriation (Harvard University Press, 2025) continues to reach new audiences and win prestigious awards. Recently, the Organization of American Historians (OAH) recognized …
Micha Espinosa Hosts Actor Training Laboratorio at UW-Madison
Suppose you’re a non-Latine actor tasked with playing a Latine character appropriately. Or suppose you’re a Latine actor asked to draw on your heritage for a role, and your training hasn’t prepared you to do …
Armando Ibarra Helps to Contextualize Reports about César Chávez
In the wake of the New York Times story that revealed reports of sexual assault, abuse, and harassment by César Chávez, CLS faculty member Armando Ibarra is helping press outlets understand the story’s impact and …
Jorell Meléndez-Badillo Discusses Puerto Rico and Pop Culture with WORT
Is Puerto Rico the most important place in the world? Jorell Meléndez-Badillo thinks there’s a case to be made. On March 17, the CLS affiliate faculty member shared his thoughts about the archipelago’s influence on …
Falina Enriquez Wins Vilas Associates Competition
Anthropologist Falina Enriquez was recently named one of 24 winners of the University’s Vilas Associates Competition. The award recognizes new and ongoing research of the highest quality and significance. Recipients are chosen competitively by the …
Theresa Delgadillo Talks Literature and Immigration with the Badger Herald
A recent feature story in the Badger Herald on the relationship between literature and politics of immigration drew on an interview with CLS Director Theresa Delgadillo, a Vilas Distinguished Professor of English and Chicanx/e & Latinx/e …
Jorell Meléndez-Badillo Helps Media Outlets Interpret Bad Bunny’s Historic Halftime Show
You could say February has been busy for Jorell Meléndez-Badillo. A CLS affiliate faculty member, Prof. Meléndez-Badillo recently made headlines by contributing historical vignettes to the superstar Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny’s recent album “DeBÍ …
Aurora Santiago Ortiz Discusses Puerto Rico’s Future with NPR
When the folks behind NPR’s “1A” show needed context for a story about what 2026 holds for Puerto Rico, they turned to CLS core faculty member Aurora Santiago Ortiz. In a wide-ranging conversation that aired …