CCLASS
About CCLASS
Vanderbilt’s Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies founded the CLACX Consortium for Latin American Studies in the South (CCLASS) in 2022 with funding from a 2022-2026 National Resource Center grant. The MSI-centered consortium serves as a hub to discuss and reimagine the nature and future of Latin American Studies in the South. It includes Tuskegee University, University of Texas-Arlington, Tennessee State University (TSU), Texas Woman’s University (TWU), Jacksonville State University (JSU), and the University of Alabama. CCLASS held its first annual meeting at Vanderbilt in January 2023, in conjunction with our third symposium in our conversation series addressing the state of the field of Latin American Studies (insert link here). The second meeting was held at the University of Alabama in February 2024. The next meeting is set for Mexico City in April 2025 during the 72nd annual meeting of the Southeastern Council on Latin American Studies.
Member Institutions
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University is a private Historically Black University (HBCU) founded in rural Alabama in 1881. The university is an 1890-land grant university. The university has graduate programs in veterinary medicine, engineering, occupational therapy, and environmental sciences. It has approximately 3,250 undergraduate and graduate students. In 2024, Tuskegee University was ranked as the number three HBCU in the United States. Regionally, Tuskegee is ranked as one of the top universities in Alabama.
The TU Global Office (www.tuskegee.edu/tugo) initiated the Portuguese partnership and MOU with Vanderbilt University in 2015. As a result of the partnership, over 30 Tuskegee University students have taken Portuguese language classes. Moreover, as a result of the partnership, TU faculty in modern languages have researched and produced scholarship in Caribbean and Latin American Studies. In 2024, Tuskegee conducted its first Brazil study abroad program with Rutgers University-Camden, NJ. In 2025, 10 TU student studied abroad in Salvador, Bahia. This 2025 program was made possible through generous funding from TU Alumni, principally the Redmond Family-Gregory and Sonja Redmond.
Over the last few years, Vanderbilt University faculty, including Dr. Jane Landers and Dr. Jesus Ruiz, have lectured to and mentored TU students in language and history. Macon County schoolteachers located in Tuskegee, AL have participated in CLAS teachers’ workshops and enjoyed book club access. The partnership hosted Brazilian author and historian Dr. Alexandra Lima da Silva with whom Dr. Rhonda Collier co-authored Portuguese language research. Moreover, the CLAS partnership has assisted with research and execution of an upper-level Afro-Brazilian Literature in English Translation course at Tuskegee.
University of Texas-Arlington
The University of Texas at Arlington is a Hispanic Serving Research University located in the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metroplex, a vibrant and diverse metropolitan area that is home to over 8 million people, one of the fastest-growing tech economies in the United States, and a wide array of arts, entertainment, and cultural activities. The Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) at UTA is a focal point for research, teaching and community outreach in service to the Mexican American and Latino communities in North Texas. CMAS hosts an undergraduate minor and a graduate certificate in Mexican American Studies, supports faculty conducting research in Latino, Latin American, or Mexican American studies, and serves as a nexus between UTA and the Latino, mexicano and migrant communities in the North Texas. Dr. Xavier Medina Vidal, the Director of CMAS, serves as the CCLASS liaison.
Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University (TSU) is the only state-funded Historically Black University in Tennessee. Founded in 1912, TSU is a public land-grant institution with two campuses in Nashville, offering a diverse range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The university’s Intensive English Center (IEC) is the only program in Tennessee accredited by the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA) and the first HBCU-based program in U.S. history to receive this certification. The IEC provides comprehensive language programs for non-English-speaking students pursuing higher education, as well as for professionals seeking to enhance their English communication skills. Additionally, TSU’s International Programs and Academic Global Engagement office plays a vital role in the community, recognized for its social impact and strong global connections.
Texas Woman’s University
Texas Woman’s University (TWU), the nation’s largest public university primarily for women, serves a diverse community across campuses in Denton, Dallas, and Houston. With 91% female students, 50% first-generation college attendees, 49% Pell Grant recipients, and a demographic of 38% Hispanic, 19% Black, 9% Asian, and 2% multiracial, TWU stands out in Texas for its commitment to social mobility, best value, student experience, and high workforce salaries for graduates. The Department of Language, Culture and Gender Studies offers BAs in English (literature, writing, social justice, and 7-12 certification), Multicultural Women’s and Gender Studies (tracks in community leadership and health), and, starting Fall 2025, a BA in Spanish with a focus on Translation and Interpreting.
Dr. Angela Rodriguez Mooney is an Assistant Professor of Spanish and the Spanish Program Coordinator and Advisor in the Department of Language, Culture and Gender Studies at Texas Woman’s University. Her research explores the intersections of race, gender, and social class in contemporary Luso-Hispanic cultural production, and includes numerous published articles and book chapters. Dedicated to fostering inclusivity, she actively promotes recruitment and retention initiatives, focusing on first-generation and low-income students. In her role as Spanish Program Coordinator, Dr. Mooney collaborates with the CCLASS consortium with the goal of offering Portuguese courses, exploring study abroad opportunities, and advancing initiatives to strengthen the humanities and Latin American studies on campus.
Jacksonville State University
Jacksonville State University is a comprehensive public regional university located in Jacksonville, AL. The university serves a diverse student body of approximately 9,950 undergraduate and graduate students, offering over 100 academic programs. More than 1/5 of students identify as first generation. Since its founding in 1883, the university has served as a steward for the northeast Alabama region. Jax State ranks high among universities in the state for enhancing upward social mobility.
The university’s History & Foreign Languages department hosts the newly created Latin American Studies minor. The department regularly offers classes in Latin American history and culture. It also offers language courses in Spanish, French, and now beginning Portuguese, thanks to generous support from the CCLASS consortium. Department faculty also lead annual study abroad opportunities for students. Recent trips have sent students to Seville, Spain, and Mexico City, Mexico. Dr. Lance Ingwersen, Associate Professor of Latin American History and coordinator of the minor in Latin American Studies, serves as the university liaison for CCLASS.
The University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a large, public university and the state’s flagship, with over 40,000 undergraduate and graduate students and nearly 200 degree programs. The Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies Program is housed in the university’s largest college, the College of Arts and Sciences, and in the department of Modern Languages and Classics. MLC faculty research and teach courses in over ten languages, among them Spanish and Portuguese. They also lead study abroad programs to Colombia and numerous other countries. Dr. Sarah Moody directs LACLS and contributes to the UA strategic goal of providing a global perspective. The program offers a capstone research course and also offers numerous events and lectures to the campus community.