DePaul University’s Center for Latino Research (CLR) was honored recently for a host of programs and research projects benefiting the Latino community. The accolades arrived in a Cook County Board congratulatory resolution sponsored by Eighth District Commissioner Roberto Maldonado, who presented the document to center director Felix Masud-Piloto and assistant director Mervin Mendez.

"This is quite an honor," said Masud-Piloto, who is also an associate professor of history at DePaul. "This resolution indicates that our political leaders recognize the value of our service to the community and believe it is important."

Mendez added, "DePaul has worked to bring the university into the community and the community into the university. The resolution indicates that the Center for Latino Research is viewed as a institution for the Latino community in Chicago."

The resolution cites numerous praiseworthy initiatives the center has undertaken, including its work with the Young Lords Organization to document that group’s fight against gentrification and other causes, the center’s efforts to learn from Chicago’s 1966 Division Street Riots and an extensive study the center is conducting on Latino homelessness.

In addition, the resolution commends the center for providing students with valuable learning opportunities and for launching a new magazine, "Dialogo," to connect scholars with the community using a shared forum of expression.

Masud-Piloto said "Dialogo," which recently published its second issue, has earned strong support among readers in academe and in the community at large. It is available in community bookstores around Chicago. A new web site has been created to expand "Dialogo’s" reach even further. Readers internationally can view the publication at condor.depaul.edu/~dialogo/. In addition to the publication’s stories, the web site offers links to many newspapers from Latin America.

Masud-Piloto is particularly proud of the center’s work with students, 12 of whom will attend the Latino/Latina Opportunity Program at UCLA in the summer. "This is our sixth contingent and our largest."

Another popular initiative has been the Nuestra America Occasional Paper Series, which has published research on such issues as Caribbean migration, Mexican unemployment and Cuban family organization.

For more than a decade, DePaul’s Center for Latino Research has been empowering the Latino community locally and around the country through research projects, partnerships with community organizations and student leadership opportunities.

For more information on the center, call Masud-Piloto at (773) 325-7472.