Introduction

" ....to create educational programs which respond to and satisfy diverse educational needs " (NCC mission statement)

As our world's economic and political systems have become increasingly global in nature, the study of its regions, geography, politics, culture and societies is now more vital than ever to the future success of the students and graduates of Nassau Community College. In addition, according to the most recent data released by the College's Office of Institutional Research, it is also becoming clear that the number of Latino/Latina students now turning to NCC to help them prepare for their futures has been increasing steadily over the past decade and will only continue to do so. The College has demonstrated its commitment to these students by offering ESL courses to those who need them, but this alone does not fulfill the College's mission as it relates to this new population.

Academic Goals

"...create a multicultural environment which fosters the synthesis of knowledge, aesthetic appreciation and commitment to ethical and social values. "

In keeping with the stated mission of Nassau Community College, the College-wide Committee on Latin American and Latino/Latina Studies proposes the formation of a Latin American and Latino/Latina Studies Program, a comprehensive academic program focusing on all aspects of Latin American geography, history, politics, economics, literature and cultures, as well as the culturally distinct expression of Latino/Latina culture in the United States.

This program would begin by identifying the courses that, College-wide, presently offer studies relevant to this area and necessary additional courses would be proposed to those departments that participate in the program.

This proposal addresses an issue that the College has been working on for the past decade: overcoming its Eurocentric past. Latin American students, it should come as no surprise, are as little knowledgeable of their own culture as Anglo American students are of theirs. On the other hand, the non-Latino/Latina Nassau student suffers from an overvalued cultural insularity whose continued encouragement would disserve both the student and the county.

Enhancing the spectrum of offerings to those students as well, the Latin American/Latino/Latina Studies Program would take the next step in the College's transcending its legacy of cultural and intellectual provincialism.

In sum, this program will coordinate the teaching of an area of knowledge not just for the consumption of one ethnic sector of the campus; it will assume that Latin American/Latino/Latina Studies comprise a major area of knowledge that is important to the entire student body.

Community Service Goals

"... to provide career programs to prepare students for regional and global employment opportunities "

A program in Latin American/Latino/Latina Studies will prepare students concentrating in this area of study to continue on the B.A. level. Having completed these courses will also facilitate New York State teacher certification and teacher promotion, and will also be valuable to careers in law enforcement, the health professions, community medicine, pre-law studies, business administration and social work. In fact, that the College as yet does not offer this program of studies to complement those aforementioned professions, training in which it does offer, provides sound argument enough for the merits of this program, whose courses should be strongly recommended to students who are studying in those career programs.