TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - An initiative partially funded by a gift from a member of The University of Alabama Board of Trustees will allow UA faculty, staff and students to study, teach and conduct research in Cuba.

The Cooper Cuba Initiative at UA has been established by Trustee Angus Cooper and his brother David Cooper of Mobile. The brothers have given $50,000 for the program. Angus Cooper is vice-chair of the academic affairs committee of the UA Board of Trustees and holds other leadership roles on the Board.

“We are very grateful to the Coopers for their generous support of this important initiative,” said UA interim President Barry Mason. “This program will offer our faculty and students some excellent opportunities to work with and learn from their counterparts in Cuba.”

A group of UA administrators and faculty will travel to Cuba next week to begin building academic partnerships with educators in that country. The University recently received an academic travel license from the U.S. Department of the Treasury which permits travel to Cuba for the purpose of educational development.

“The Cooper Cuba Initiative will help support faculty research and projects related to Cuba under the University’s license, but it is broader than that. It also will encourage cooperation between the University’s Cuba programs and those of other educational and civic groups in Alabama and the region. Our goal is for The University of Alabama to become a regional and even national center for Cuba-related research and study. The University has a longstanding presence in international activities, and this will be an important addition to that mission,” said Stan Murphy, UA senior counsel for international development and strategic initiatives and coordinator of the Cooper Cuba Initiative.

Under the academic travel license, UA students may travel to Cuba as part of academic courses, conduct academic research in Cuba as part of their professional development and qualifications, and study at Cuban universities as long as UA will grant credit for that study.

UA faculty and staff may teach in academic programs at Cuban universities and Cuban scholars may teach or participate in academic and scholarly activities at UA.

Along with the Cooper Cuba Initiative, the UA College of Arts and Sciences has established a Cuba committee, chaired by Dr. Larry Clayton, professor and chair of the history department and interim director of UA’s Latin American studies program. The committee consists of UA faculty and staff and members of the community with research and educational interests in Cuba who are working to build academic partnerships with educators in that country. UA already has numerous academic and research interests related to Cuba. Those interests include the Latin American studies program, rural health initiatives, archaeological research and much more.

UA officials traveling to Cuba next week represent the colleges of Arts & Sciences, Commerce and Business Administration, Communication and Information Sciences, Community Health Sciences, Continuing Studies, Education, Engineering, Human Environmental Sciences and Nursing; the schools of Law and Social Work, the Graduate School, the Libraries and other areas.