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Featured programs include dinners, lectures and film screening: WCSU offers events to celebrate Hispanic-Latino Heritage Month

DANBURY, CONN. — Western Connecticut State University will celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month with a diverse program of campus events in September and October including lectures, a documentary film screening and dinners with a Hispanic and Latin American theme.

The WCSU celebration of Hispanic-Latino Heritage Month, recognized by the U.S. Congress for the period from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, 2017, will kick off with a Hispanic/Latin American dinner served from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 20, at the Marketplace in the Campus Center on the Westside campus, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury. The public is invited to attend at a cost of $9.75 per guest; RSVP is requested at dennisd@wcsu.edu. Cosponsors are Sodexo Food Service and the Office of InterCultural Affairs.

Connecticut State Police Lt. Col. David Rosado, commanding officer of the Office of Field Operations in the police division’s Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, will deliver the Hispanic-Latino Heritage Month keynote address at 7 p.m. on a future date to be announced: it has been rescheduled from Thursday, Sept. 28, in the North Ballroom of the Campus Center on the Westside campus. Admission will be free and open to the public. The talk is cosponsored by the Justice and Law Administration Division, the Office of Diversity and Equity, and the Office of InterCultural Affairs.

Rosado’s promotion to lieutenant colonel in 2016 made the 19-year veteran trooper of Puerto Rican descent the highest-ranking Latino ever to serve in the Connecticut State Police. He holds responsibility for an office that oversees approximately 700 troopers engaged in field work at troop headquarters statewide and at special units ranging from traffic control to counter-terrorism and firearms trafficking. Previous leadership positions in the State Police have included commands for units in labor relations, internal affairs and criminal investigation as well as troop headquarters at Bradley International Airport and Hartford. Rosado holds a J.D. degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.

Other public events featured during the WCSU celebration of Hispanic-Latino Heritage month will include:

  • Tuesday, Oct. 3: A public forum, “DACA, Dreamers and Deportation: New Developments,” will be from 2 to 5 p.m. in Room 127 of White Hall on the Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury. Professor of Sociology Dr. Carina Bandhauer will lead a panel discussion about the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program and the ramifications of such change. Sponsored by the Division of Arts and Sciences; Office of Diversity and Equity; Office of Intercultural Affairs; and members of the Connecticut Students 4 a Dream.
  • Wednesday, Oct. 4: Dr. Donald Gagnon, WCSU professor of English and recipient of the 2017 Provost’s Prize for Teaching, will discuss the Hispanic connection to the New York Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem in a faculty lecture at 5:30 p.m. in Room 127 of White Hall on the Midtown campus. The talk is free and the public is invited; cosponsors are the English Department and the Office of InterCultural Affairs.
  • Tuesday, Oct. 10: The documentary film, “Latin Explosion: A New America,” will be screened at 7 p.m. in Room 127 of White Hall on the Midtown campus. The film, which explores the far-reaching influence of Latin music on American culture, will be followed by an interactive, technology-based question-and-answer session moderated by Associate Professor of Music Dr. Luis Fernando Jimenez. The public is invited; movie snacks and refreshments will be served. Cosponsors are the Latin American Student Organization, the Office of Diversity and Equity, and the Office of InterCultural Affairs.
  • Wednesday, Oct. 11: A dinner offering “A Taste of Latin America” will be from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Student Center Restaurant on the Midtown campus. The public is invited to attend at a cost of $9.75 per guest; RSVP is requested at dennisd@wcsu.edu. Cosponsors are Sodexo Food Service and the Office of InterCultural Affairs.

For more information, contact Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Daryle Dennis at dennisd@wcsu.edu or the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.

 

Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England’s best small private universities.