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The Cuban Research Institute (CRI) at Florida International University (FIU) is dedicated to creating and disseminating knowledge about Cuba and its diaspora. The institute encourages original research and interdisciplinary teaching, organizes extracurricular activities, collaborates with other academic units working in Cuban and Cuban American studies, and promotes the development of library holdings and collections on Cuba and its diaspora.
Founded in 1991, CRI is a freestanding entity within FIU's Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs. Located in Miami, 228 miles from Havana and amidst the largest Cuban diaspora in the world, CRI is the nation's premier center for academic research and public programs on Cuban and Cuban American issues. No other U.S. university surpasses FIU in the number of professors and students of Cuban origin.
Since its foundation, the institute has generated an exceptional level of scholarship, teaching, and outreach. CRI has organized hundreds of academic and cultural events, covering Cuban and Cuban American history, politics, society, and the arts. CRI engages FIU students, faculty, and members of the greater South Florida community through a stimulating series of conferences, panel discussions, lectures, concerts, book presentations, and film screenings.
The public events and activities sponsored by the institute are made possible by grants and gifts by private foundations, nonprofit organizations, community members, and the state of Florida. CRI has received major support from reputable foundations, including Ford, MacArthur, Andrew W. Mellon, Open Society, Christopher Reynolds, Rockefeller, and Tinker, as well as from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Science Foundation.
The institute currently administers four scholarship programs to support Cuban and Cuban American studies: the CRI Cuban Studies Scholarship, the Díaz-Ayala Library Travel Grants, the José Antonio Echeverría Scholarship, and the Eliana Rivero Research Scholarship.
CRI is a longtime member of the Inter-University Program for Latino Research (IUPLR), a national consortium of twenty-one university-based centers dedicated to broadening the Latino intellectual presence in the United States. Participating in this network facilitates cooperation with other academic programs that support Latino students and faculty in higher education and expand the pool of Latino scholars and leaders.
More recently, CRI joined the Crossing Latinidades Humanities Research Iniative, headquartered at the University of Illinois at Chicago. This consortium of twenty Hispanic-serving public research universities, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, will provide numerous research opportunities for Latino graduate students and faculty members.
We invite you to explore our website, which provides information on our upcoming events, faculty affiliates, certificate program, research resources, and extracurricular activities. It also includes basic information about the Cuban American community and links to resources about U.S.-Cuba relations. We hope this website helps deepen your understanding of the historic changes occurring on the island and in the diaspora, which are shaping Cuba's possible futures.
