About LALISA

History of our Association

LALISA was founded a little less than two years ago in the framework of the yearly retreat sponsored by the Mellon Foundation and the Northwest Five Consortium. At this event a group of professors from Lewis & Clark College, Reed College, the University of Puget Sound, Whitman College, and Willamette University recognized the need for an organization which would foster projects involving the sharing of research, resources, and opportunities across institutions. Aside from supporting activities beneficial to our colleagues and students, the organization promotes contact with the community at large. Toward this objective, we have organized several venues, such as the visit of the prize-winning Cuban author Leonardo Padura, who presented his latest novel at the Glyph café in Portland (November 2014), as well as joint panels at the Spanish Matters Colloquium in Bellingham (April 2014) and at the University of Puget Sound (April 2015).

Origins

The conference that we are currently organizing originated in the Spanish Matters Colloquium that the University of Puget Sound launched in 2005 and held yearly until this Spring, 2015. Our Spanish Department colleagues at that university generously decided to hand over the organization of that colloquium to LALISA. The organizing committee was honored to take on this duty and is committed to maintaining the excellent caliber that our Puget Sounds colleagues were able to give to the conference.