Credit for banner image above: The Sky Lounge in the inner courtyard of FIU's Deuxième Maison, where CRI's offices are located. Photo by Florida International University.
The mission of the Cuban Research Institute (CRI) is to create and disseminate knowledge about Cuba and its diaspora. This mission focuses on FIU's student body, which boasts the largest number of undergraduate students of Cuban origin of any university outside Cuba, as well as the broader academic community and the Greater Miami area.
To accomplish this mission, CRI has developed a wide range of academic programs and activities:
- Supporting faculty and graduate student research
- Organizing academic conferences, panel discussions, and lectures
- Sponsoring public events (book presentations, film screenings, exhibitions, and concerts) of interest to the community
- Facilitating the participation of faculty experts in public discussion, media coverage, and public policy formulation on issues regarding Cuba and its diaspora
- Enriching the educational experience offered to undergraduate and graduate students at the university, especially though the expansion of course offerings on Cuba or Cuban Americans
- Nurturing the growth in the number of faculty at the university with expertise in Cuban and Cuban American studies
- Fostering the publication of faculty research on Cuban and Cuban American issues
- Making FIU an international and national hub of scholarly activity in relation to Cuba and its diaspora
- Assisting in the development and dissemination of the Cuba-related holdings and collections of the University's Green Library, Frost Art Museum, and Wolfsonian–FIU