College of Letters & Science
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 community responses. In an interview with the Associated Press, Prof. Ibarra noted that the UFW’s 1960s-era victories made the organization …
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 global popular culture with Carlos Dávalos, guest host of “A Public Affair” on community radio station WORT. He noted that, …
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 divisional Research Committees on the basis of a detailed research proposal. Funds associated with the award will support a two-year …
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 Studies. The article noted that fictional stories can shed light on larger truths of immigrant experiences and the realities of …
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 TiRAR MáS FOToS” (translated as “I Should Have Taken More Pictures”). When Bad Bunny was tapped to perform the 2026 …
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 on January 27th, Santiago Ortiz shared her thoughts with host Jenn White and fellow guest Alana Casanova-Burgess, the host of …
CLS core faculty member Armando Ibarra and affiliate faculty member Sara McKinnon recently shared their thoughts on immigration enforcement with the hosts of WORT community radio’s A Public Affair. On Wednesday, Prof. McKinnon and host Ali Muldrow reviewed the second Trump Administration’s year of mass deportations, noting that the speed and scale of current enforcement efforts …
CLS core faculty member Revel Sims received word this Fall that he was promoted to Associate Professor. Prof. Sims began teaching for the CLS Program in 2016. His research on how the structures of urban property and housing markets shape and constrain urban planning and policy—particularly in their impacts on lower-income communities and communities of …
Professor Diana Leon-Boys recently collaborated with Mattel/American Girl in the creation of Raquel Reyes, the 2026 American Girl of the Year. The doll is Mexican American, and the Mattel website describes her as “a paleta maker, pickleball player, dolphin saver, and dance-party DJ” and outlines an intriguing backstory. As part of the team of advisors, Prof. …
Professor Mariana Pacheco and two collaborators published “Re-imagining social futures: Bi/multilingual youths’ sociocritical literacies” in the July 2025 issue of the Journal of Literacy Research. The paper focuses on a summer writing program that Pacheco and her colleagues called GANAS (an acronym using a word that means “desire” or “motivation” in Spanish) for bi/multilingual youth, …