Professor Lisandro Pérez Named a Distinguished Professor by CUNY Board of Trustees
Dr. Lisandro Pérez was named a Distinguished Professor by the CUNY Board of Trustees, the highest academic honor that CUNY can offer to faculty members, in recognition of his exceptional scholarly achievement. Before joining the Department of Latin American and Latinx Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2010, he held faculty appointments at Louisiana State University and Florida International University.
A leading scholar of Cuban history and the Cuban diaspora, Pérez has helped shape the study of Cuban communities in the United States. His 2018 book, Sugar, Cigars and Revolution: The Making of Cuban New York (NYU Press), received the Herbert H. Lehman Prize for Distinguished Scholarship in New York History from the New York Academy of History and was translated and published in Havana by Casa de las Américas. His most recent book, The House on G Street: A Cuban Family Saga (NYU Press, 2023), tells the history of modern Cuba through generations of his own family.
"Professor Lisandro Pérez's appointment as a distinguished professor is a well-deserved honor," said Karol V. Mason, president of John Jay College. "Through his groundbreaking scholarship, he has deepened our understanding of Cuban history and the Cuban diaspora while demonstrating how rigorous research can illuminate issues that shape our society. I'm proud to celebrate this recognition of his extraordinary contributions to scholarship, teaching and public life."
“I am deeply honored by this recognition and grateful to be part of the John Jay and CUNY communities. Working alongside exceptional colleagues and students has been one of the great privileges of my career. I look forward to continuing our shared commitment to teaching, scholarship and public engagement in service to the people of New York,” said Pérez.
Pérez’s scholarship has also appeared in the Latin American Research Review, Journal of Latin American Studies, International Migration Review, Cuban Studies and Population and Development Review. He served as editor of Cuban Studies, a leading journal devoted to the study of Cuba and its diaspora and has shared his expertise with national audiences through appearances on CNN, ABC, NBC and MSNBC and through op-ed essays published in the New York Times, Miami Herald and Los Angeles Times. At Florida International University, Pérez founded and directed a major research center devoted to the study of Cuba and Cuban Americans and established the foremost annual scholarly conference in the field.
In recognition of his contributions to Cuban studies, the Latin American Studies Association honored Pérez with the Award for Excellence in Cuban Studies in 2023. Additional honors and fellowships include the Mel and Lois Tukman Fellowship at the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers of the New York Public Library, a Faculty Research Award from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a Research Fellowship from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and an appointment as a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation. In 2021, he was appointed by the Smithsonian Institution to the inaugural Scholarly Advisory Board of the National Museum of the American Latino, to be built on the National Mall. Pérez earned a PhD in sociology and Latin American studies from the University of Florida.
