Pitt's Center for Latin American Studies Has Awarded the Inaugural Eduardo Lozano Memorial Dissertation Prize

PITTSBURGH-Christine Hippert, who recently completed the joint PhD and Master of Public Health program in anthropology and public health from the University of Pittsburgh, has been awarded the inaugural Eduardo Lozano Memorial Dissertation Prize. The prize, which includes a cash award of $1,250, honors internationally renowned librarian Eduardo Lozano's passion for knowledge and academic rigor.

Hippert was nominated for her dissertation, titled "Identity and Development in Rural Bolivia: Negotiating Gender, Ethnicity, and Class in Development Contexts." The Eduardo Lozano Memorial Dissertation Prize was created to honor the life and work of the late Eduardo Lozano, who founded and directed the Latin American collection at Hillman Library from 1967 until his death in August 2006. Lozano developed the collection into one of the most outstanding of its kind in the world.

Prior to coming to Pitt, Hippert completed a master's degree in medical anthropology at the University of Wyoming and a bachelor's degree, cum laude, in psychology with concentrations in education and Spanish at Clark University. She will assume a tenure-track position as an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Archaeology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the fall.

The prize will be awarded annually for the best doctoral dissertation at Pitt on a topic related to Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latin American communities in other countries. It is funded by annual contributions from the Center for Latin American Studies, the Department of Hispanic Languages and Literatures in the School of Arts and Sciences, and donations to the Eduardo Lozano Memorial Dissertation Prize Fund.

This year's nominated dissertations were evaluated by a selection committee consisting of Professor G. Reid Andrews, University Center for International Studies, history; Professor John Beverley, Spanish and Latin American literature and cultural studies; and Carmelo Mesa-Lago, Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Economics and Latin American Studies.

A bound copy of the winning dissertation will be on display in the Latin American Reading Room of Hillman Library. The room, dedicated in 2002, represents the fulfillment of Lozano's aspiration for a place where Latin Americans and Latin Americanists could meet and exchange ideas. The reading room houses a variety of newspapers, journals, reference materials, and two of Lozano's paintings.

Lozano was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1925. In addition to being a distinguished librarian, Lozano was a renowned painter and poet.

Next year's competition will welcome nominations of dissertations successfully defended between May 1, 2007, and Aug. 9, 2008. The deadline and nomination procedures will be forthcoming this fall. For more information, contact John Frechione at 412-648-7395 or jfrech@pitt.edu.

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