Coalition of Latino and Latina Scholars


The Coalition of Latino and Latina Scholars is a graduate student organization at Teachers College, the Graduate and Professional School of Education affiliated with Columbia University. It was founded in Spring 2001 by a group of Latino/a students that felt the need to address interests and concerns of the Latino/a community at Teachers College. CLS is composed of a diverse group of students that come from various backgrounds and career interests. The organization provides a culturally rich environment that promotes the diversity of Latino heritage and successes of Latinos/as in the United States and across all continents.

Mission

The mission of the Coalition of Latin@ Scholars is to encourage and promote Latin@ scholarship while fostering a supportive community of students, staff, faculty, administrators, and alumni at Teachers College, Columbia University. To fulfill this mission, CLS coordinates various events throughout the academic year, including a yearly EnVisions Conference which seeks to provide information to interested students about the graduate school admissions process.

Goals

In compliance with the mission statement, CLS seeks to fulfill the following goals through the many programs and events that are organized from year to year.
Promote Latin@ scholarship
Outreach and recruit prospective and enrolled students
Foster a supportive community among Latin@s
Enrich the TC community with Latin@ culture and traditions
Promote advancement and awareness of Latin@ effort
Coalesce different groups and organizations at TC and other Columbia schools
As a student-led organization, we seek opportunities to cultivate relationships with the array of cultures, traditions, and organizations that form the Teachers College community. We promote awareness and knowledge of academic, social, political, and cultural issues that concern Latin@s and we proactively engage in efforts to further an equitable, diverse, just, and progressive educational experience.