The SUNY New Paltz Black Studies department has hired a new visiting assistant professor. Cruz Bueno, Ph. D, began her temporary position this Spring semester teaching three courses: Blacks in the Caribbean, 1492-Present and two sections of Race and Racism in U.S. History.
Bueno works as an assistant professor of Economics at Siena College and has taken an 18-month leave of absence to teach here.
“I am so excited to be at SUNY New Paltz in general, and in the historic Black Studies department in particular,” Bueno said. “Although I have only been here a couple of weeks my students have impressed me with the questions they ask and the comments they share; lots of intellectual curiosity in the classroom and that’s great!”
Department Chair Professor Major Coleman said he is delighted to have Bueno join the department.
“First, she is an economist, which is closely related to my field,” Coleman said. “But Cruz brings far more than just economics: she adds the gender speciality which we are lacking, and also fills the Latin American courses, which we also badly needed to have covered.”
Bueno said she is very dedicated to her field and her students, adding that she will add to the campus and department by mentoring and helping students inside and outside of the classroom.
“The best thing that I bring to the Black Studies Department and the campus in general is my ability to create organic bridges between departments and programs,” Bueno said.
This is the first hire for the department since they lost four faculty members last year for various and legitimate reasons. Coleman says the new hire will not be the department’s last as they intend to hire two tenure-track faculty members by the upcoming fall 2016 semester.