Dear Provost Douglas Woods and Vice-Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Michael Rozier,
We write on behalf of the Latin American Studies Association to express our deep concern at your decision to close Loyola University Chicago’s M.A. program in Hispanic Studies, which effectively ends graduate-level research and teaching of Hispanic literature, language, and culture at your institution.
Loyola’s Hispanic Studies M.A. program has earned a global reputation for excellence over more than eight decades; it now stands as a bastion of world-class research and teaching in the Midwest and beyond. Its graduates regularly go on to PhDs and lectureships at preeminent institutions across the United States and internationally, cementing Loyola’s global academic reputation. Crucially, Loyola’s Hispanic Studies M.A. also stands as a much-needed beacon of academic and socio-cultural diversity, providing an entry point to graduate education for first-generation and minority students from Chicago and beyond. In all these ways, the program directly furthers both Loyola’s commitment to academic excellence and its broader Jesuit mission to serve the public good.
About LASA
The Latin American Studies Association (LASA) is the largest professional association in the world for individuals and institutions engaged in the study of Latin America. With over 13,000 members, over 60% of whom reside outside the United States, LASA is the one association that brings together experts on Latin America from all disciplines and diverse occupational endeavors, across the globe. LASA's mission is to foster intellectual discussion, research, and teaching on Latin America, the Caribbean, and its people throughout the Americas, promote the interests of its diverse membership, and encourage civic engagement through network building and public debate.
If you wish to interview a LASA Executive Council member, you can contact the LASA communications office at (412) 648-7929 or send an email to lasa@lasaweb.org.