Programming at the Hunter College Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CENTRO) recently received $6.468 million from the Mellon Foundation’s Presidential Initiatives to support CENTRO’s “Rooted + Relational” research initiative, which will feature scholarly and cultural programming about Puerto Rico and its diaspora over the next five years.
The inaugural theme for “Rooted + Relational,” which takes place from through 2025, is “Archives, Memory, & the Present Past of Puerto Rico.” Subsequent themes include “Boricuas in Relation” (2025–26); “Black Cuerpas: Race, Body Politics & Culture” (2026–27); “LGBTQ Activism, Pleasure, & Worldmaking” (2027–28); and “Land, Ecologies, & Environmental Futures” (2028–29).
“The Rooted + Relational Initiative comes out of years of scholarly research, community building, and a pressing need to reframe critical discourses in the field of Puerto Rican studies,” said CENTRO Director Dr. Yomaira Figueroa-Vásquez in a statement. “This generous funding provides an essential foundation to this work over the next five years. We are thrilled that Mellon President Elizabeth Alexander sees the importance of Puerto Rican Studies and that the Foundation has committed to bolstering the legacy and mission of CENTRO by seeing the value of what this initiative can do for this field and our community.”
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The CENTRO library, reading room, and archives are open by appointment from Monday–Friday at the Hunter College Silberman School of Social Work in East Harlem. To arrange a time to visit, contact centro.library@hunter.cuny.edu or 212-396-7882.