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History of the Casa Latina Cultural Center

In 1972, Raul Rodolfo Salazar, an assistant professor of Foreign Languages, used his residence to serve as a meeting place for Latino students on campus. This group of students organized to become the Latin American Organization (LAO) which later evolved into the Latin American Student Organization (LASO). It was through the efforts of the LAO students that Casa Latina found its first home at 501 West Pierce in 1973. A fire in the winter of 1975 destroyed part of Casa Latina. Casa Latina was then moved to the Auxiliary Enterprises Building until April 2008. When the building was to be demolished, Casa Latina Cultural Center was temporally relocated to the fourth floor of Olson so that the land could be cleared for the construction of the present Multicultural Center. In June of 2009, the new Multicultural Center was completed and Casa Latina Cultural Center moved into the new building along with the Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center and the Women's Center.

Objectives of the Center:

Casa Latina Cultural Center provides an environment which celebrates Latin and International cultures and implements quality educational and entertaining programs for our university students and community. The Center seeks to achieve these objectives by:

• Expand current and external collaborative opportunities for programs that showcase the Hispanic and International cultures on topics such as; history, art, ethnicity, diversity, traditions, and languages.
• Inform students about possible sources of financial assistance.
• Expand current programs and implement new ones to ensure that the changing education and cultural needs of the students are being met.
• Develop strategies to help increase retention rates and to promote the academic success of our students.
• Create a campus environment that supports a wide range of student interests and provides opportunities for leadership development and personal growth.

Contact Info

Casa Latina Cultural Center
1 University circle
Macomb, IL 61455

E-mail: casa@wiu.edu
Phone: (309) 298-3379
Fax: (309) 298-2567

Office Hours of Operation

M-F: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.