The New York Latino Research Clearinghouse at Teachers College, Columbia University, is an online source of the most up-to-date research reports, academic papers and policy news that relate to the Latino populations of the United States by the leading scholars and policy organizations in the country. 

"There are more than 40 million Latinos in the United States, which makes this the biggest racial and ethnic minority population in the country yet the research on Latinos has been scattered across many sources, with no single site that brings it all together," says Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz, Professor of Economics and Education at Teachers College, Affiliate Professor of International and Public Affairs at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, and Managing Editor of the Clearinghouse. He added that in New York City alone there are close to 2.5 million Latinos.  "We expect the Clearinghouse to be at the forefront of disseminating the latest data and information on the history, socioeconomic situation and educational status of the various Latino groups in America and to facilitate networking and information among scholars," he said.

Visitors to the Clearinghouse, which can be found at http://www.tc.edu/latinoresearch/, can access up to the minute research reports on subjects ranging from estimates of the number of undocumented Latinos in the US to assessments of immigration, policy reform to asthma rates among Latinos in New York City. The site also features major data sources on Latinos, including:

• The U.S. Census of Population
• The Current Population Survey and American Community Survey
• The National Survey of Hispanics

Links to major nongovernmental organizations and their activities are also available.  These include, among others:

• The work of the National Council of La Raza
• The National Puerto Rican Coalition
• The Dominican American National Roundtable
• The Cuban American National Council

Links are available to federal, state and local government agencies as well as to the web sites of federal, state and local legislators, including:

• Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera in Albany
• Congressman Xavier Becerra in Washington, D.C.

Links to leading research centers include:

• The Pew Hispanic Center
• The UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
• The City College Dominican Studies Institute
• The Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University.   

The Clearinghouse is part of the New York Latino Research and Resources Network (NYLARNet), which was founded with a three-year grant from the New York State Legislature in 2003 to bring together the combined expertise of U.S. Latino Studies scholars and other professionals.  NYLARNet is an innovative collaboration in higher education within New York State, involving a partnership of the Center for Latino, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies (CELAC) under the direction of Professor Jose Cruz at the State University of New York at Albany; the Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Centro) under the direction of Professor Tony DeJesus at Hunter College, CUNY; and Professor Rivera-Batiz and the Institute for Urban Minority Education (IUME) at Teachers College.

"This project is significant in more ways than one," said Cruz. "We wanted to develop an on-line resource that was useful not just to scholars but to policymakers, activists, and other professionals, as well, and the design reflects that intention."

The Clearinghouse became a reality based on discussions among researchers from the partner institutions and New York State Assemblyman Peter Rivera (76th District), Chair of the New York State Assembly Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force.

"The continued rapid growth of Hispanic communities across our nation and our expanding influence across all sectors of our society are clearly demonstrated through the creation and content of the New York Latino Research Clearinghouse," said Assemblyman Rivera. "If information is power, then this Clearinghouse is the center of our universe and a place where the documentation of our continued social evolution will be stored and shared.  I am extremely proud to be a part of this dynamic and nation-building project."

Published Tuesday, Mar. 14, 2006