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January 2012

Laura Romo, associate professor of education at the University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB), is the new director of the campus's Chicano Studies Institute. A leading researcher in the areas of adolescent development, parent-adolescent communication, and informal health education, Romo replaced Carl Gutierrez-Jones, professor of English at UCSB, who held the position for the past six years. Romo received her Ph.D. in psychology from UCLA, and joined the UCSB faculty in 2003.

Dr. Eliseo "Cheo" Torres, University of New Mexico vice president for student affairs, was recognized with the 2011 Ohtli award at a celebration of Mexico's Independence in September in Santa Fe, N.M. The award is given yearly by the government of Mexico to individuals who promote the well-being of Mexicans living in the U.S. According to Mauricio Ibarra, consul of Mexico, Torres was chosen because of his role as former adviser to the Institute of Mexicans Abroad (IME) and as a recognized promoter of the Mexican community in Albuquerque.

Broward College (Fla.) recently added two individuals to its management team. Aileen Izquierdo (d l.) joined the college as the first vice president for public affairs and marketing. She previously served as vice president for communications and marketing at Florida Atlantic University and also worked in the media relations department at Florida International University. Dr. Mercedes Quiroga (r.) was named campus president for the A. Hugh Adams Central Campus. Quiroga came to Broward from Miami Dade College (MDC), where she served for more than 20 years in a variety of positions including, most recently, president of MDC's Wolfson Campus.

Alex sanitizes young adult novel Bait, which depicts the emotional journey of a troubled 16-year-old boy, was named the Tomas Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award recipient for works published in 2009-10. Sanchez, who has a master's degree in guidance and counseling from Old Dominion University, was honored in October during a series of events on the Texas State University campus and at the Texas Book Festival in Austin.

Ricardo Perez, professor of anthropology at Eastern Connecticut State University, recently was invited to lecture in Cuba at the University of Havana's Department of Tourism Studies. Perez has an interest in the intersection of tourism and ecology in Cuba and has been conducting field research on the topic since visiting the island northern coast in 2005. He is now preparing to write a book based on his research over the past six years.

Anna Maria Cardinalli-Padilla, classical flamenco guitarist and accomplished scholar, recently shared her passion for the richness of Latino culture at Eastern Connecticut State University. Cardinalli-Padilla is a professor of intelligence and national security studies at American Military University. She completed her bachelor's degree summa cum laude at St. Mary's College of California at age 18, her master's degree at St. johns College at 20, and she became the youngest person to receive a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame at the age of 25.