Center for Latin American Studies Secures $1.2M+ Grant from U.S. State Department to Empower Women Leaders from Latin America

The University of Arizona Center for Latin American Studies, or CLAS, was recently awarded renewed grant funding from the U.S. State Department in collaboration with the Institute for Training and Development to host 40 university women leaders from Latin American countries.

The Women’s Leadership Institute — funded by the Study of the U.S. Institutes, or SUSI — is directed by Marcela Vásquez-León, director of CLAS, which brings a select group of Indigenous and Afro-descendent women, ages 18 to 24, together and hosts two separate women’s leadership institutes. In January, they receive students from Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay for the Winter Institute. In July, students from Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala arrive for the summer institute. 

The 2024 summer institute recently hosted a cultural event in which participants from nine participating countries (Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Panama) shared their identity, culture, and traditions. Following the program hosted at U of A, students spent over a week touring and studying in Boston and New York City, with the final stop in Washington, D.C.

The funding award — $430,000 over a three-year cycle — is part of the Study of the U.S. Institutes programming, which includes an intensive academic residency, an educational study tour to another region of the United States, opportunities for participants to interact with American peers, and engage in community service activities and leadership development. 

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