La Casa Latina, Penn’s new Center for Hispanic Excellence, has a home–at Westminster House, next to the Iron Gate Theater at 3700 Chestnut Street–and a director: Dr. Lilvia Soto, assistant dean for academic advising in the College. The goals of the center, which opened in September, include helping the University to recruit and retain Latino students, and developing various social, cultural and academic programs.
“My colleagues and I want La Casa Latina to develop the next generation of Latino leaders,” says Soto, a native of Mexico. “We want to be the guardians of the mysteries and the laws in which the cultural heritage of our Latino tribe is expressed. When Latinos study history, they learn that they are the heirs to many rich and ancient civilizations, and this knowledge gives them the breadth, depth, reach and vitality they need to take their rightful place at the circular table of our civilization.”
