Inaugural CoE Dean's Distinguished Speaker: Cristóbal Salinas Jr., Ph.D.

Earlier this month, the College of Education Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series kicked off for the first time. Students, faculty, and campus community members converged in the SAEC auditorium to hear Cristóbal Salinas, Jr.’s October 2 lecture, “The Politics of Latin American Labels: Names that Divide.”

Salinas had flown in from Florida Atlantic University, where he is a professor of Educational Leadership & Research Methodology in the College of Education. Salinas is also a trailblazer in the study of Latino/Latina/Latin-x student identity; his expertise has been sought by major media outlets including CNN, NBC News, NPR, Telemundo, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and Good Morning America. He serves as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Hispanic Higher Education and is the founder and former editor of the Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity.

Salinas was introduced by Dean Laanan, who has known him for over a decade. He began his talk by charting the history of the letter “x," tracing its roots to Arabic and examining its presence in the term “Latinx." He discussed the implications of “Latinx” across higher education, healthcare, business, and politics. Salinas explained that “Latinx” encompasses Latiné, Latini, and Latinu and challenges traditional gender binaries. He then addressed the potential drawbacks of the term, and provided a data-based, historical perspective on the evolution of Latin American labels: “Hispanic” denotes the past, “Latino” encapsulates the present, and “Latinx” indicates the need for language to evolve in order to better serve its speakers. He introduced us to "Latin*," a term that encompasses a broader range of identities and is quickly gaining traction in higher education, including new titles across university presses. 

Encouraging attendees to engage in conversations about personal preferred terminology, Dr. Salinas left the audience with new insights—and CoE staff ensured that many students left with college-branded stickers for their devices!

The next event in the Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series will feature Dr. Jungmin Kwon on November 4. We are grateful to our co-sponsors at the U Asia Center for their partnership in organizing this event, and look forward to welcoming the community once again!