Director of the Center for Latin American Studies

Joseph Glover, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Carlos de la Torre as Director of the Center

for Latin American Studies effective in the Fall term. Dr. de la Torre is a veteran researcher in the field of Latin American studies and has a substantial background in university administration. As director, he will provide leadership to strengthen the Center’s existing programs and spearhead innovation.

Dr. de la Torre comes to UF from the University of Kentucky, where he served as Director of International Studies Fall 2011 through June 2015 and Professor in the Department of Sociology. Before joining the University of Kentucky, he chaired the Ph.D. Program in Political Studies and the Department of Political Studies at FLACSO-Ecuador where he contributed to the design and launch of one of the first Ph.D. programs in Ecuador. Dr. de la Torre served as Director of Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies at Northeastern University and Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Before that, he was an Associate Professor of Sociology in the Sociology Department at Drew University. Dr. de la Torre maintains an active research program with two primary focal areas, the analysis of the ambiguous relationships between Latin American populism and democracy and the study of racism and citizenship in Latin America.

Dr. de la Torre is excited to return to UF, where he earned his B.A. in Sociology with a certificate in Latin American Studies in 1983 and served as the LASA Lecturing Fellow at the Center for Latin American Studies in March 2006.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. de la Torre on his appointment and welcoming him back to the University of Florida!  Pending his arrival, Professor Susan Paulson has agreed to serve as Interim Director of the Center.