NYU Steinhardt today announced that musician, actor, activist, and politician Rubén Blades will serve as Scholar-in-Residence for the 2018-2019 academic year to explore collaborations for promoting and fostering diversity and advancing ideas of social change through music at NYU. The appointment and related events build on the momentum of the documentary Yo No Me Llamo Rubén Blades (Rubén Blades is Not My Name) which was chosen by the Panamanian Academy of Film Arts and Sciences as the country’s bid for the Oscars in the foreign-language category (announced yesterday).

Rubén will be actively involved with academic programs, events, interventions, and research initiatives at NYU Steinhardt to help elevate the voice of the Latinx community and student population, which has seen a 14 percent increase in NYU Steinhardt’s incoming 2018 freshman class. The appointment connects with Rubén’s background as a scholar and an activist and furthers the mission of Steinhardt’s Music and Social Change Lab, a multi-disciplinary social enterprise incubator designed to drive social innovation through music, led by Carlos Chirinos. Rubén will be meeting with students and faculty, sharing his experiences in the classroom, helping to recruit more faculty of color into higher education, participating in events, and more.

There is more information about Rubén’s appointment in the release here. Please let me know if you would be interested in covering this or attending Rubén’s first event on Wednesday, September 19 where he will be speaking about his career with 120 music business students and answering questions. Here are photos of Rubén receiving his NYU ID which you’re also welcome to use!

Many thanks,
Sarah