The Innovation Fund grant helped Northwestern University achieve several  goals. First, it increased Northwestern student interest in the university’s undergraduate programs in Cuba, enrolling both programs to capacity. In 2015, forty (40) U.S. students participated in the “Public Health in Cuba” and “Cuba: Health and Society” programs at Northwestern during the grant period. Thanks in large part to scholarship resources available to participants through this grant and other sources, Northwestern was able to recruit an especially diverse student group. During Summer 2015, the Cuba cohort was 15% Black or African American, 11% Hispanic or Latino/Latina, and 10% biracial. This cohort also included a varsity athlete, who was able to continue her training in Havana. Additionally, two of the students were first-generation college students. Through the programs, students took classes, participated in academic and cultural excursions, and witnessed the historic opening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana in Summer 2015.

In Summer 2016, the program expanded to include a new course on “Latino Theatre in Context,” co-taught by Northwestern Professor and Teatro Buendía staff. Twenty (20) more U.S. students participated in the program, representing five of the seven schools 16 different majors. The cohorts were also diverse academically, with 50% of the participants being students of color, and 55% demonstrating financial need. The course provided students with an analysis of contemporary Cuban culture and society through an overview of the history and current state of theatre arts in Cuba and experience performing sections of Teatro Buendia’s Lo Obtra Tempestad, their original adaptation of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”. Furthermore, students took a core course, “Introduction to Cuban Culture and Society.” 

The university also increased faculty engagement with these programs, and expanded them to include a theater arts course “Latino Theater in Context,” co-taught by Northwestern faculty member and leaders from Teatro Buendia (one of whom also teaches at Universidad de las Artes-ISA). Another Northwestern professor taught one of the programs’ core courses, “Introduction to Cuban Culture and Society,” in 2016. Three (3) additional Northwestern’s Radio/TV/Film faculty travelled to Cuba during the 2015 program to meet with their counterparts in Havana. In October 2016, another Northwestern professor travelled to Cuba to explore an institutional collaboration with Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Manuel Fajardo” in Havana. This, and a visit to the same institution by Northwestern Vice President for International Relations in March 2017, resulted in a delegation of eight (8) Northwestern medical and medical anthropology faculty members traveling to Havana to meet with their colleagues in June 2017.

Additionally, Northwestern hosted a number of Cuban scholars and professionals at Northwestern throughout the grant period. They will continue to develop their existing programs and relationships in Cuba, and seek out ways to foster new future collaborations.