Welcome to the Center for Latin American Studies

Founded in 1959 by Dr. William Manger, distinguished specialist in inter-American affairs and former Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States, the Georgetown University Latin American Studies Program was one of the first of its kind in the United States. For many years, in addition to benefitting from Georgetown's world-class faculty, the program has recruited highly specialized adjunct faculty from the Washington community in order to develop a unique set of offerings focused on inter-American affairs. Georgetown has continued to strengthen its core faculty specializing in Latin America in fields such as demography, political science, literature, and anthropology and has expanded its efforts to attract distinguished adjunct and visiting professors.

In 1985 the University designated the Latin American Studies Program as one of the graduate programs targeted for excellence. To reflect the growing importance of teaching, research and outreach activities on campus, in 1990, the University created the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS). In 1995, CLAS moved into the Bunn Intercultural Center as part of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.

Georgetown's Latin American Studies program is today one of the leading programs of its kind, with particular emphasis on issues of democratic governance, economic integration, inter-American affairs, and culture and society. CLAS is a Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center. This designation provides funds to strengthen the center as a national resource for the teaching of modern foreign languages, area and international studies, as well as issues in world affairs.

Center Director, Arturo Valenzuela returned in January 2001 after serving at the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council. During President Clinton's first term in office he was also on leave as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs in the U.S. Department of State. He is assisted by three additional full-time staff members and numerous student employees. In addition, each project associated with the Center maintains its own specialized staff.