Latin American Studies Association

LASA was founded in 1966 following a meeting sponsored by the Joint Committee on Latin American Studies (composed of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) and the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), held at the Hispanic Foundation (now the Hispanic Division) of the Library of Congress, May 7, 1966. LASA's constitution and bylaws were drafted and on May 12, 1966 it was incorporated in Washington, D.C., as a legal, tax exempt organization, "non-profit professional body created by scholarly area specialists to meet their particular and growing needs." The incorporation of the LASA was the culmination of a long process to create such an organization after the failure of a previous attempt. In April 1958, Howard F. Cline, Director of the Hispanic Foundation of the Library of Congress (1952–71) and the ACLS organized a conference to explore the creation of a coordinating body for Latin American area studies. In 1959, the ACLS and the SSRC formed the Joint Committee on Latin American Studies, which ultimately led to the founding of LASA as an organization. The Constitution and Bylaws of the Latin American Studies Association were published in the Latin American Research Review in 1966. LASA's first President after its 1966 incorporation was political scientist Kalman Silvert, who published extensively on Latin American political systems and conflict. LASA honors Silvert's memory with a major prize. In 1986, the association moved to the University of Pittsburgh where it remained until opening its own facility in 2022, the Latin American Cultural Center, adjacent to the university's campus.