Stony Brook University will launch Hispanic Heritage Month with a virtual opening ceremony on Thursday, October 1, at 12:30 pm, honoring the University’s Latin American and Hispanic communities.
The theme of the 2020 national Hispanic Heritage Month is: “Be proud of your past, embrace your future.” This year’s keynote speakers will be Judith Brown Clarke, Vice President of Equity & Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer, and Adam Gonzalez, PhD, Director of Behavioral Health and Founding Director of the Mind-Body Clinical Research Center, Renaissance School of Medicine, and a leader in “White Coats for Black Lives.” Register online to attend.
Diversity has long been one of Stony Brook’s strongest assets and the Hispanic American community is an essential part of our multicultural campus. Hispanic and Latino Americans have made distinguished contributions to the United States in all major fields, such as the military, music, literature, philosophy, sports, business and economy, science and politics.
To commemorate the striking advances that Latinx culture has made at Stony Brook, the 2020 Hispanic Heritage Month Planning Committee, celebrating its 31st year, has developed virtual programming including guest speakers, movie night, games and activities, music, art and cooking demonstrations.
“The pandemic made 2020 difficult for so many students, but they wanted to continue the tradition with the 31st celebration,” said Dorothy Corbett, HHM Committee Chair and EOP Senior Counselor. “The members of the Hispanic Heritage Month committee did not want to let them down, so we got together to plan a month of virtual programming and celebrations of our history and culture.”
One aspect of the programming that will not be virtual is the delicious cultural cuisines to be featured on campus at the dining locations. The Faculty Student Association (FSA) and CulinArt are excited to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month through a partnership with Stony Brook University’s Hispanic Heritage Month committee, the Latin American Student Association (LASO), and the Office of Diversity to spotlight the talents of accomplished guest chefs by offering cuisines from around the globe. This year’s culinary celebration will also feature authentic recipes from students, faculty and staff.
“Inclusive Eats” is a new program launched this year through Healthier U, a comprehensive and innovative model health program that focuses on the improvement and education of employee health and wellness. Through Stony Brook University’s Presidential Mini-Grant Award for Departmental Diversity Initiatives, Healthier U and FSA developed this program to offer virtual cooking demonstrations in the Teaching Kitchen. These demos provide healthy alternatives to traditional, cultural foods as part of the campus community’s cultural history month celebrations.
“Through the collaboration with CulinArt guest chefs, Healthier U aims to educate the campus community about health risks, highlight ways in which healthy culturally diverse options are available on campus – from bike paths and wellness offerings to healthy food options at various food locations and as an added benefit, participants in the series gain knowledge and enjoy healthy foods in a celebratory fashion,” said Cathrine Duffy, Director of Healthier U.
The annual closing ceremony on Monday, November 2, will feature awards and recognition for students, faculty and staff who have made significant contributions to the Hispanic community at Stony Brook. The deadline for students to apply online is October 23, 2020.
These events support the University’s Equity, Inclusion and Diversity initiatives.
For a complete list of events, please visit the Hispanic Heritage Month website.
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