Cuba

The approval was the culmination of a six-month effort coordinated by Scott Whiteford and Manuel Chávez of MSU's Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS). Working with MSU colleges and departments, the dean of International Studies and Programs, and the MSU president's office, they gathered information about planned MSU-Cuba initiatives and completed the extensive paperwork for the "file of request."

United States regulations prohibit any U.S.-Cuba collaboration, travel, and exchanges, without a proper federal license. With this newly granted license, MSU faculty, staff, and students under the direct supervision of a faculty member are allowed to travel to Cuba if their primary purpose is academic in nature and related to formal MSU programs. Other travel to Cuba, be it tourism, family-related, or even humanitarian, is not allowed under the terms of the agreement.

Importantly, the license also allows Cuban scholars, practitioners, and academics to visit the MSU campus for collaborative endeavors upon invitation by MSU colleges and other academic units.

MSU's decision to request the academic license derived, in part, from the number of faculty and staff who were implementing programs or doing research in Cuba under another institution's license. Faculty and staff from the School of Music, the MSU Libraries, and the Departments of Anthropology, Resource Development, Agricultural Economics, Geography and Regional Planning, and the College of Communication Arts and Sciences were already positioned and in communication with Cuban institutions and scholars.

Currently, under the MSU license, there are three programs either fully developed or in advanced planning stages: a library preservation project, a study abroad program (see related story), and a collaborative project of communications and journalism. In addition, the Latin Jazz Ensemble in the MSU School of Music has been invited to participate in a jazz festival in Cuba in December 2002, according to Francisco Mora, the group's faculty leader.

CLACS has been designated by the U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control as the MSU entity responsible for issuing the documentation required to engage in activities with Cuban institutions and individuals. Since regulations are very explicit about the nature of academic relationships, reasons for traveling, and authorization of activities in and with Cuba, it is advisable that faculty contact CLACS before engaging in Cuba-related program development.