UCF Dean Appointed to White House Commission on Hispanic Museum

By Christine Dellert Dec. 12, 2008

Photo: The Wittliff Collections / Southwestern Writers Collection, Texas State University-San Marcos

Cabeza de Vaca and a handful of other survivors wash ashore on what would later be known as Galveston Island. Woodblock print by Barbara Mathews Whitehead.

Full Photo

University of Central Florida Dean of the College of Arts & Humanities José B. Fernández has been appointed to serve on a 23-member commission that will explore the potential of creating a national museum dedicated to American Latinos.

President George W. Bush appointed Fernández and six others last week because of their demonstrated commitment to the research and promotion of U.S. Latino life, art, culture and history. The act to create the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of the National Museum of the American Latino was signed into law earlier this year. The museum would showcase cultural arts and history of the Latino community nationwide.

“As a Hispanic by heritage and an American by choice, I am extremely honored that the president of my adopted country has appointed me to be part of an important endeavor focusing on the contributions of the Latino community to this great nation,” Fernández said. “It is an honor that I accept with both pride and humility."

Fernández became UCF’s first Hispanic dean in 2006. He is the author of several books about the early Spanish explorer Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and Argentine general José de San Martín, and he was a co-editor of “Herencia: The Anthology of Hispanic Liteature of the United States.” Fernández is also on the board of directors of the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project.

At UCF, he has served as professor of History and Foreign Languages and as chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature. He also chaired President John Hitt’s Commission on the Status of Racial and Ethnic Minorities. In 2001, Fernández received the Pegasus Professor award, UCF’s highest faculty honor for extraordinary teaching, research and service. In 2006, he became the first Hispanic president of the Florida Historical Society, the state's oldest cultural organization.

On the new White House-appointed commission, Fernández will help organize a national conference to discuss the museum’s viability with stakeholders, experts and policymakers. He will also help develop a fundraising plan and produce a report to Congress with a recommended plan of action to create the museum.

To learn more about the National Museum of the American Latino, go to http://www.americanlatinomuseum.org.

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