Latinx Intelligentsia

We're back with Season 4!

For our first episode of the season, La Profesora talks with Dra. Constanza Cabello at Framingham State University about what it's like to be the inaugural Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement. We talk about moving from personal growth in DEI work to structural change and how to stay in the field where the work is never done.

Our Poet-in-Residence and in Resistencia, Sarah Gonzales curates poetry from Adrienne Rich.

For the last episode of the season, La Profesora is revisiting the Writing Series we are doing all year. This time, she talks with Dr. Davíd Martínez about writing beyond publications and metrics for tenure and promotion. Writing should be about community, about action, and about praxis.

Our Poet-in-Residence and in Resistencia, Sarah Gonzales, shares poetry from Paola Valenzuela.

As you wait for Season 4, please nominate gente to share their stories on the podcast, listen to previous episodes, and follow the amazing scholars and practitioners who are doing the work! See you in 2021!

Even before the protests and outrage that stemmed from the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd, there have been discussions about anti-Blackness in Latinx/a/o communities. This episode focuses on addressing anti-Blackness by centering Blackness in our comunidad through the tenets of Black-imiento created by Amalia Dache, Jasmine Marie Haywood, y Cristina Mislán in 2019.

La Profesora talks with Dra. Amalia Dache about applying the tenets of Black-imiento to the study of higher education, as well as the application of Black-imiento in student success work with Dr. Jason Arrington-Rivera.

Our Poet-in-Residence and in Resistencia, Sarah Gonzales curates poetry from Diannely Antigua.

We're doing a different take on what you have probably been hearing and reading as folx push through the final campaigns for Election Day 2020. Not to say that our current political climate is beautiful, but that our engagement in our local communities, of fighting for justice for our communities is beautiful in its effort.

We are focusing on local perspectives—what happens when one of us within higher education runs for elected office? We showcase Dr. Raul Fernandez, who is the first Latino member of the Select Board in Brookline, Massachusetts, which borders Boston University.

I also had the opportunity to talk with Dra. Tiffany Gonzalez, who is uncovering stories of mujeres engaged in political activism and resistance, who are still doing the work and not always getting the credit or the acknowledge that their efforts are creating change.

Our Poet-in-Residence and in Resistencia, Sarah Gonzales, curates poetry by Richard Blanco entitled "Election Day".

We kick off our Writing Series with a focus on writing academic books!

La Profesora talks with Dra. Lorgia Garcia-Peña about her journey in writing her first award-winning book, The Borders of Dominicanidad: Race, Nations and Archives of Contradictions (Duke University Press, 2016) and how she carried the idea for her second book, Translating Blackness: Migrations and Detours of Latinx Colonialities in Global Perspectives from the beginning of her graduate studies.

Our Poet-In-Residence and in Resistencia, Sarah Gonzales, shares poetry from Aracelis Girmay.

The term "Latinx" is still in the process of becoming. La Profesora talks with Dr. Cristobal Salinas, who has studied the evolution of the term within higher education contexts and introduces additional terms that may (better) address the experiences of gente within the Latinx/a/o diaspora.

And she talks with Dra. Sara Mata y Dr. Joel Perez, who were the co-chairs for the NASPA Latinx/a/o Knowledge Community when they changed the name to include the term Latinx.

Remember, mi gente, terminology is the first step--there still so much more work to do to truly embrace gender non-conforming, transgender, and gender queer gente and addressing anti-Blackness within our communities.

Our Poet-in-Residence and in Resistencia, Sarah Gonzales, curates poetry by Nikki Giovanni.

Mentoring: an elusive concept that can be difficult to define and, at times, difficult to engage with someone. There are times when we do not know how to approach someone for mentorship/femtorship/guidance, and then there are times we do not even realize we are being mentored!

La Profesora talks with Dr. David Perez II and future Dra. Juana Osorio about how they define mentorship/femtorship/guidance, the challenges they have experienced as gente who are mentored and who mentor, and how we can think differently about this concept by focusing on cariño, reciprocity, communication, and investment.

Our Poet-in-Residence and Resistencia, Sarah Gonzales curates poetry from Elizabeth Acevedo.

La Profesora talks with Dra. Yolanda Valencia and future Dr. Christian Bello Escobar about their journeys to the U.S. and their early years working in a slaughterhouse and in janitorial services, respectively. Both experiences have informed their research and practice in extraordinary ways, one as a feminist human geographer and for another the assistant director for the College Assistance Migrant Program in northwest Georgia. Their stories should inspire all of us to fight for the rights of all (im)migrants, especially farmworkers and the children and families suffering in detention camps.

Our Poet-in-Residence and in Resistencia, Sarah Gonzales showcases the poetry of Alexia Gonzales. [Trigger warning: This poem contains language that may not be suitable for all audiences].

La Profesora kicks off Season 3 with conversations about finding love in a place like academia and what it means to navigate higher education as dual career couples.

Guests Fabiola Mora and Dora Frias talk about being models of possibility, especially for queer Latinx communities. They also share important advice about setting boundaries regarding work so they can be present at home.

Guests Dra. Susana Hernandez and Dr. Ignacio Hernandez share their journeys to becoming faculty and leaders both in their department and in the field of higher education. They offer important recommendations for departments working with dual career couples and the importance of valuing their individual contributions to scholarship, teaching, and service.

Our Poet-in-Residence and in Resistencia, Sarah Gonzales, curates poetry by Julia Alvarez entitled "Locusts".

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While La Profesora works on Season 3, here's a sneak peak into an exciting collaboration between the national organization, Excelencia in Education and Dra. Michelle Espino Lira, associate professor at the University of Maryland, College Park!

Cultivating Excelencia is a limited series podcast showcasing the colleges, universities, and community organizations that are accelerating Latinx/a/o student success in higher education.

Starting September 2nd, we will feature the 2019 Examples of Excelencia leading to the 2020 Celebración de Excelencia on October 1st.

The following categories will be featured:

The Example of Excelencia at the Associate Level

The Center for Community College Partnerships

University of California, Los Angeles

The Example of Excelencia at the Baccalaureate Level

Attract, Inspire, Mentor, and Support Students—The AIMS2 Program

California State University, Northridge

The Example of Excelencia at the Graduate Level

Cal-Bridge Program

California Polytechnic State University, Pomona

The Example of Excelencia at the Community-Based Organization Level

Latino Achievers

YMCA of Middle Tennessee (Nashville)