Professor Emeritus Raul Fernandez completed his secondary education in Cuba, received his B.A. from UC Berkeley in 1966 and his Ph.D. in Economics from Claremont Graduate University in 1971. He joined the faculty at UC Irvine in 1969. Fernandez’s research has focused on economic and cultural transactions between the U.S. and Latin America, conducting research on labor and migration, the U.S.-Mexico border, Latin jazz and Cuban music, Chicano history and the thought of José Martí. Fernandez has authored six books and edited two books. A Fulbright Fellow, Professor Fernandez was the Curator of the Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit Latin Jazz: La combinación Perfecta, which opened in Washington, D.C. in 2002 and traveled to twelve US cities through 2006. A Department of Chicano/Latino Studies founder, as Emeritus, Professor Fernandez carries on his research, manages a blog critical of U.S. imperial policies, and continues mentoring undergraduate, graduate students and junior faculty. He is currently Secretary of the UC-Cuba Academic Initiative.