The CUNY Haitian Studies Institute (HSI) is a fairly new but beneficial resource center housed at Brooklyn College. Founded in 2016 by the university’s board of trustees — it is an academic division that offers information on the study of Haiti and its Diaspora, and also examines research that reflects how minor or major changes in Haiti can influence Haitian and non-Haitian communities abroad.
The institute is headed by its founding director and sociology professor, Jean Eddy Saint Paul, who is of Haitian descent. As a former librarian and the man building it from the ground up, he said he felt an immense sense of pride leading the city’s only Haitian-centric educational institute — as the only other institute on Haitian studies in the states is located at The University of Kansas. He also says it is important to him that he left behind valuable compilations of Haitian scholarly work. Continue reading