Best of 2013: OLLAS Anniversary

Omaha – It was a special year for UNO in 2013 with countless events, achievements, special guest visits and national recognitions for students, faculty, staff and alumni.

For UNO's Office of Latino-Latin American Studies (OLLAS), 2013 not only marked a great year, but also a great decade. As part of their semi-annual conference event, Cumbre, OLLAS looked back at its last 10 years and invited the UNO and Omaha communities to contribute to its next 10 years as a leader in discussions and research about America's largest-growing cultural population - and the one with the smallest voice.

OLLAS was started in 2003 as a way to bring together faculty from multiple disciplines and bring their areas of expertise to bear on the community. As such, UNO was able to create a Latin American Studies minor, which many students take advantage of today.

In its 10 years as a UNO institution, OLLAS has led the way on groundbreaking research in regards to the economic impact and economic disparities felt by members of the Latino communities in Nebraska at Iowa. This year's Cumbre celebrated that work and looked toward the future, when the Latino population will become the majority in the United States.

Guest speakers at this year's event included Nebraska State Senator Heath Mello, UNESCO Chair on Migration Raul Delgado-Wise and a keynote address by Professor of Education at New York University Pedro Noguera. The event was also recognized in a letter written by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who served as a Nebraska senator and gave his support to OLLAS when it was created.

Related Links:
OLLAS 10 Year Anniversary Video
Keynote Address Video
Collection of Powerpoint Presentations from Cumbre

Previous 'Best of 2013':
Tribal Emergency Management