Puerto Rican Cultural Preservation in Times of COVID

FAIN: AH-275723-20

CUNY Research Foundation, Hunter College (New York, NY 10065-5024)
Edwin Melendez (Project Director: May 2020 to July 2023)

To preserve the continuity of services of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies' Puerto Rican Heritage Cultural Ambassadors program, Centro Voices e-magazine, Collective Access and Digital Collections initiatives, and Digital Humanities exhibits.

The Center for Puerto Rican Studies submits this proposal to the National Endowment for the Humanities to seek $300,000 in funding under the CARES Act in order to preserve the continuity of services of its Puerto Rican Heritage Cultural Ambassadors program, Centro Voices e-magazine, its Oral History project, its Collective Access and Digital Collections initiatives, and its Digital Humanities exhibits. These programs and initiatives represent core Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Centro) programming in the humanities. In seeking the maintenance of these programs and initiatives, Centro aims to keep 15 staff members employed at their current level of employment (part-time or full-time) through December 31, 2020. With this funding Centro will buttress and enhance its existing digital platform in order to maintain and expand its virtual and remote programming and service offerings at times of pandemic-induced social distancing measures, providing for continuity in staffing levels.