USLS 25 Year Anniversary

U.S. Latino/a Studies 25 Year Anniversary Symposium

Saturday, September 28, 2019. Sun Room, Memorial Union

Events start at 8:00 a.m. Join us for all or part of the day!

Commitment. Connection. Inclusion.

Join us in celebrating 25 years of U.S. Latino/a Studies on Iowa State University’s campus.

This symposium is sure to engage memory, incite conversation, encourage cross cultural connections throughout the ISU campus, Iowa, and the Midwest. Events to feature dynamic panels with ISU students, faculty, and staff, along with local and national experts, presentations on ISU initiatives, and a keynote address on stereotypes from world renowned author and curator, William “Memo” Nericcio.


Saturday, September 28, 2019. Sun Room, Memorial Union

NOTE: Throughout the day and throughout the MU, be sure to check out:

• Featured posters from Latinx Student, Faculty, and Staff Groups at ISU

•The Grand Opening of The Mex[t]asy Exhibit in the Multicultural Center

  • 8-8:30 a.m.: Registration. A light breakfast will be served.
  1. 8:30-8:40 a.m.: Brief introductions
    • Beate Schmittman, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University
  2. 8:40-9:00 a.m.: Intro to the Symposium: Celebrating 25 Years, Dr. Lucía M. Suárez, Director of USLS, Dr. Hector Avalos, Founding Director of USLS
  3. 9:00-9:20 a.m.: Reflections from USLS Core Faculty
    • Megan Myers, Assistant Professor of Spanish and Latinx Studies
    • Brian Behnken, Associate Professor of History and Latinx Studies
  4. 9:20-9:30 a.m., brief break
  5. 9:30-10:15 a.m.: USLS Student Testimonials: “What this knowledge means to me”

    6. Moderator: Bonar Hernández, Department of History

    • USLS Ambassadors: Kimberly Thomas, Joe Medina, Maria “Lupe” Duran
    • USLS Student Program Assistants: Austin Vittetoe and John Osorio
    • ISU 4U Promise Student: Lorena Elías San Martínez
  6. 10:15 a.m.-12:00 p.m.: USLS Leadership: Faculty/Student Collaborations shaping Engaged Citizens

    7. Moderator: Brian Behnken, Department of History

    • STEM and Agriculture: Elizabeth Martinez-Podolsky and students, Lily Trevino and Javelis Marin-Castro.
    • USLS/Spanish 325X, Culture and Community: Iowa and Midwest Latino/as: Megan Myers and students, Grant Sincox, Ariadna Delgado-Ruiz, and Jianna Dakin-Seiler
    • Summer Internship Scholarships, Latino/a Affairs: Sonia Reyes and students, Brenda Villanueva, Ana Mier, and Alexandra Foster
    • Summer Internship Scholarships, School of Design, Marshalltown Project: Mimi Wagner and Jazmin Diaz
    • USLS Rising Stars Pilot Program: Jon Wolseth, and students, David Vega, Anlis Mercado-Rios, and Kacey Berry
    • Spanish for Heritage Speakers, 305X: Marta Lence and students, Klever Miranda, Marc Antonio Ruelas, and Oscar Grijalva-Mancillas
  7. 12:00-12:55 p.m.: Lunch
  8. 1:00-2:00 p.m.: Keynote Address from William “Memo” Nericcio

    Channeling Mextasy:

    Latinxers in the Digital Age

  9. 2:00-2:45 p.m.: Latinos/as in the Sciences

    10. Moderator: Kevin Quinteros, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology (EEOB)

    • Nicole Valenzuela, Biology Program
    • Eliseo de Leon, Office of Diversity and Inclusion
    • Javier Vela, Department of Chemistry
  10. 2:45-4:30 p.m.: Latinx and Latinx-Allied Voices Across the ISU Campus

    11. Moderator: Christiana Langenberg, Department of English and Women’s and Gender Studies

    • Katherine Richardson Bruna, School of Education
    • Santos Nuñez Galicia, Colegas, College of Engineering
    • Sarah Rodriguez, Associate Professor – Texas A&M University – Commerce & Iowa State University School of Education Faculty Affiliate
    • Monica Gordillo, Colegas, Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business
    • José Antonio Rosa, Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business
    • Luis Rico-Gutierrez, College of Design
  11. 4:30- 6:00 p.m.: LatinX Programming in the Midwest: A discussion of program histories in the region with directors and founders of programs from the Mid-West.

    12. Moderator: Lucía M. Suárez, Department of World Languages and Cultures

    • Bill Johnson Gonzalez, DePaul University, Chicago
    • Larry Lafountain-Stokes, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
    • Sylvia Martinez, Indiana University
    • Darrel Wanzer-Serrano, University of Iowa
  12. 6:00-6:30 p.m.: Inclusion and the Future of Latino/a Studies at Iowa State University
    • Rita Mookerjee, Core Faculty, Women and Genders Studies
    • Sebastian Braun, American Indian Studies Program
    • Diana Sloan, Program Director for Hispanic and Latino Affairs, Office of the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion
  13. 6:30- 6:45 Closing Remarks
    • Dawn Bratsch-Prince, Office of the Provost, Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost
    • Lucía M. Suárez, Department of World Languages and Cultures
  14. 6:45- 9:00 p.m.: TAPAS CELEBRATION

    15. With special performances by:

    • Música Andina performed by John Osorio Torres and Mauricio Serrano
    • Mariachi Los Amigos
      • Trumpet: Jacob Herr, Trenten Goode
      • Violin: Alyssa Seuntjens, Luz Hernandez, Jaden Birkner
      • Flute: Cecilia Rodriguez
      • Guitar: Xavier Robles
      • Vihuela: Ricardo Corona
      • Guitarron: Gustavo Flores, Samantha Vazquez

    And an amazing Latino/a/x music play list


September 19 – October 10 at 6:00 p.m. in Library 198

Films subject to change contingent on availability

Thursday, September 19

abused: The Postville Raid

Directed by Luis Argueta, 2012

Presents the devastating effects of US Enforcement Immigration policies on communities, families and children. The film tells the gripping personal stories of the individuals, the families and the town that survived the most brutal, most expensive and largest immigration raid in the history of the United States and serves as a cautionary tale of government abuses.

Q&A to follow with Dr. Megan Myers

Thursday, September 26

Stolen Education

Directed by by Enrique Alemán, Jr., and Rudy Luna, 2013

This film documents the untold story of Mexican-American school children who challenged discrimination in Texas schools in the 1950’s and changed the face of education in the Southwest.

Q&A to follow with Dr. Brian Behnken

Thursday, October 3

Voices from Mariel

Directed by James Carleton, 2011

Watch as the director recounts the story of 5 individuals who come to the United States from Cuba in the 1980 boat crisis from the Mariel Port.

Q&A to follow with Dr. Lucía M. Suárez

Thursday, October 10

The Last Colony: A Meditation on Puerto Rico’s Political Status

Directed by Juan Agustín Márquez 2015

The Last Colony is an in-depth exploration of Puerto Rico’s political status and its unique relationship to the United States.

Q&A to follow with Dr. José Rosa


Mextasy header image

At the Multicultural Center, Memorial Union

September 10 – October 30

Mextasy: Seductive Hallucinations of Latina/o Mannequins Prowling the American Unconscious is a traveling art show/exhibit based on the work of William “Memo” Nericcio and Guillermo Nericcio García. Mextasy both reflects and expands upon Nericcio’s 2007 book with UT Press, Tex[t]-Mex: Seductive Hallucinations of the Mexican in America. In addition to racist artifacts from American mass culture (the bread and butter of Uncle Sam’s unconscious), the show also features works that “xicanosmotic,” that is, works by Mexican-American artists where the delicious tattoo of the Mexican/US frontera is writ large as in the deliriously delicious semiotic tracings of Perry Vasquez, Izel Vargas, and Marisela Norte.

To find out more about this project, head to the Mextasy Blog!