As new director of the Julian Samora Research Institute at MSU, Israel Cuellar will focus on education as the key to rebuilding the Latino community.
People who are more well-educated have better jobs, and that reduces the income disparities that exist, he said. The key to equalization is education.
The institute, which is located in the Nisbet Office Building on campus, was designed in 1989 to focus on the needs of the Chicano/Latino community with an emphasis on researching disparities and the social, cultural and demographic factors that play a role.
Before coming to MSU, Cuellar was a professor of psychology at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, Texas. As director, Cuellar plans to focus on conducting research on Latinos and education.
If we strengthen the Latino community, we can strengthen society as a whole, he said. One of the key issues is the low level of educational attainment and high dropout rate. We need to find out the problems and why this is occurring and how we can change it.
Cuellar will also help develop social policy and teach graduate students how to conduct behavioral science research that benefits Latinos.
Cuellar, who was honored at a reception Thursday, said he was surprised at the amount of support he has received from MSU.
It made me realize that the JSRI has a lot of stakeholders,he said. A lot of people are invested in the success of this institute in the university and the community.
It was almost like marking an occasion that JSRI will begin moving to a particular path and direction.
Ann Millard, associate professor of anthropology and a research scholar at the institute, said Cuellar was a perfect choice for the position.
I think its very exciting, she said. He has great experience in health research, and he has excellent knowledge of Latinos.
And Rene Rosenbaum, associate director of the institute, said he and the other 11 people on the committee to find a new director chose the right person.
I think he has done a great job getting to know a lot of the community right away, he said. He has a strong research effort, and I think he will be able to bring together different facets of the university to help the institute.
Rosenbaum said he is glad to see a permanent director after the institute experienced a turnover of five directors in 11 years on both a permanent and interim basis.
Cuellar, we believe, is committed to the institute, and I think he will be with us for a long, long time, he said. And I am glad to see that.