The University Libraries are pleased to welcome Dr. Michael J. Bustamante as the director of academic programs for the Cuban Heritage Collection, effective March 1, 2023. Michael currently serves as the Emilio Bacardí Moreau Chair in Cuban and Cuban-American Studies and an associate professor of history at the University, and he takes on this new role in addition to his primary duties as Bacardí Chair.
In collaboration with Amanda Moreno, interim Esperanza Bravo de Varona Chair and archivist for the Cuban Heritage Collection, Michael oversees existing academic and research programs at the Collection, including the Goizueta Graduate Fellowship Program, the biennial Roberto C. Goizueta Distinguished Presidential Residence Program, and the biennial New Directions in Cuban Studies Conference. With support from the Morrison Fund for Cuban Studies, Amanda and Michael are developing new programs, such as an annual seminar in Cuban and Cuban diaspora studies, short-term travel grants for faculty to conduct research at the Cuban Heritage Collection, and travel grants for University affiliates to conduct research in Cuban Studies in other repositories and research sites. He also works with Collection faculty and staff to plan book talks, panels, and other public events.
Michael has a long history with the Cuban Heritage Collection. The Collection supported his doctoral dissertation research with two Goizueta Foundation Graduate Fellowships. Completed in 2016, when he earned a Ph.D. in Latin American and Caribbean history from Yale University, his dissertation evolved into the book, “Cuban Memory Wars: Retrospective Politics in Revolution and Exile.” More recently, he helped conceptualize the Collection’s “El efecto Mariel” webinar series in 2020, during the 40th anniversary of the Mariel boatlift.
Michael’s appointment better integrates the Cuban Heritage Collection and Cuban Studies initiatives across the University of Miami, positioning the Collection as the hub for Cuban Studies at the University, in the local community, and beyond.
Michael J. Bustamante can be reached at m.bustamante@miami.edu.
