Robert Blake, director of the Latin American Studies Center. Photo by G.L. Kohuth

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While Michigan State University’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies is designed to serve the Latino communities, newly appointed director Robert Blake thinks the center reaches a broader audience.

Blake said the center contributes to the global competencies of students, faculty and staff campus wide as well as to Michigan communities. 

“First and foremost to the university are the students, which really means the public who sends their sons and daughters to the university to get an education,” said Blake. “We think part of that education is being more knowledgeable globally about what the world’s issues are, being less ethnocentric, and understanding that the challenges to the world are connected.”

Blake hopes the program makes the public more aware of worldly issues.

“Whereas the center is a go-to place for things about Latin America and the Caribbean, MSU is a go-to place for international collaborations and global issues,” Blake said. “Hopefully, what we will do will enhance those kinds of interactions and long-term connections.”

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