Faculty of Arts Professor Andrea Davis has been appointed the new deputy director of York's Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean. Davis has a mandate to coordinate CERLAC's graduate diploma program in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. She will also oversee the Brown Bag Seminar Series, facilitate student and community outreach and participation, and promote Caribbean-related research and initiatives.
Right: Andrea Davis
A professor in York’s Division of Humanities, Davis' research strengths are in Caribbean, African American and black Canadian literatures, and issues of gender, race and ethnicity as they impact the Caribbean and Caribbean diasporas. She brings to CERLAC extensive administrative experience and energy. She was the coordinator of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program from 2001 to 2006. She has also worked with the Centre for the Studies of Black Cultures in Canada and currently serves as member of the executive committee of the Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on Global Migrations of African Peoples.
Known for her passion for teaching and her engaging classroom style, in 2007 she was recognized as one of the “Top 30” lecturers in the province in TVOntario’s 2007 Best Lecturer Competition.
At CERLAC, she will promote Caribbean-related research and initiatives and plans to organize a major conference in fall 2009 that will map out the field of Caribbean Studies across disciplines (political science, environmental studies, tourism, education, sociology, history and literature) to identify strengths and gaps. This conference will bring together researchers in the Caribbean and North America.
CERLAC director Eduardo Canel said of Davis' new position. “Andrea’s significant contributions to :CERLAC, her excellent intellectual leadership abilities and her extensive experience working with students make her uniquely qualified for this position. On behalf of the CERLAC Executive Committee I am proud and delighted to welcome her as our deputy director and wish her the best in her new role.”
"I am extremely happy to be working with Eduardo as CERLAC continues its growth and expansion," said Davis. "I am excited by the possibilities and dedicated to enhancing CERLAC's long commitment to research in Latin America and the Caribbean."
For more on Davis, see her profile on the CERLAC Web site.