Hispanic Heritage Month at Stony Brook University will officially begin with the 33rd annual Opening Ceremony on Wednesday, October 5, featuring keynote speaker Miguel Garcia-Diaz, along with student performers, plenty of food and other festivities. This year’s theme is “Unidos: Inclusivity for a Stronger Nation.”
The opening ceremony will be held from 1 pm to 2:30 pm at the Student Activities Center (SAC) Ballroom A. RSVP online by September 26 to attend.
Garcia-Diaz is interim associate vice president for research, associate dean of the Graduate School and assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacological Sciences in the Renaissance School of Medicine. His research focuses on how mitochondria, the energy factories of the cell, are able to use their genome to build the different structures necessary for mammalian respiration. He is also interested in how we can use our knowledge of protein structure, chemistry and biology to develop new drugs and is engaged in different drug discovery efforts. He has published more than 70 peer-reviewed manuscripts and his research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation.
Besides research, Garcia-Diaz is passionate about graduate education and is is strongly committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. He is a member of three different programs, has participated in numerous recruitment initiatives and he served for seven years as a graduate program director and as director of an NIH-funded training program. Last year, he received the Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Award from the Renaissance School of Medicine.
Campus Dining will celebrate the month with a variety of special culinary events across campus, including international breakfasts and lunches. Chef Julieta Ballasteros will be at East Side Dine-In on Monday, October 3, from 4 pm to 10 pm, and Global Night – Spain will take place Wednesday, October 19, from 4 pm to 10 pm at East Side Dine-In.
The monthlong celebration’s list of events also includes:
Dominos y Cafe Game Night at the UNITI Cultural Center
Wednesday, October 5, 7-10 pm
Latinx, Latine, Hispanic – What’s the Difference? Community Plática
Wednesday, October 26, 4:30-6 pm
Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LACS) presents this community talk in the LACS Gallery, SBS 3rd floor, N-320. Co-sponored by HISB. See the LACS website for details.
Faculty and Staff Mixer sponsored by Union Universitaria Latinoamericana (UUL)
Thursday, October 27, 4-6 pm at the UNITI Cultural Center conference room
The UUL will host this mixer as a way to create a community of support and networking.
Fundraiser: Basket Raffle
Donations are needed by Friday, October 28, for the basket raffle, which will be held at the closing ceremony on November 1. Donation drop-off location is SAC room 222. Single item donations or fully stocked baskets are welcome. The raffle will take place on Tuesday, November 1, 3-5 pm in SAC Ballroom A. For more information, please contact this email.
Closing Ceremony
Tuesday, November 1, 3-5 pm, SAC Ballroom A
The event features dinner along with awards, presentation of scholarships and more.
Días de los Muertos
Wednesday, November 2, 1 pm
The event will include the opening of the altar at 2 pm in the LACS Gallery, SBS N-320.
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