Student Union |Photo by Michael Krieger |The Wright State Guardian
On March 22, Wright State University (WSU) announced that Fermin Recarte will be the intercultural specialist of the new Latin and Hispanic Cutural Center starting April 1.
The Position
LANA started off as Asian, Hispanic, and Native American Center (AHNA) in 1997 under the direction of Mai Nguyen. In 2014, AHNA was split into two offices, with the Office of Hispanic Affairs being led by Tony Ortiz until Dec 2018.
In Oct. 2017, it was announced that the offices would combine to LatinX, Asian, and Native American Affairs (LANA) under the direction of Julia Acosta until May 2019. Since departing from the university, Acosta has come under fire for making racial comments.
Mia Honaker has served as the administrative support coordinator for the office of LANA since Nov. 2005, and has served the role of interim assistant director of LANA since Acosta’s departure.
LANA has recently announced a split into two separate offices once again: the Latin and Hispanic Cultural Center and the Asian and Native American Center, with plans for Recarte to join the team next month.
Overview
Recarte has spent the last several years as an educator across the globe, recruiting native-English speakers to teach in China as well as teaching Spanish himself in China and in several states across the United States.
Recarte has also served as the publisher and owner of El Gallito Luis, a Spanish newspaper in Layfette, LA, as well as the executive director of the Hispanic Community Resources Center in Frankfort, Indiana.
Recarte’s position will have him overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Latin and Hispanic Cultural Center, as well as facilitate programs to increase the understanding of Latin and Hispanic cultures on campus.
