Overview

The Office of Latino/Latin American Studies of the Great Plains—OLLAS (pronounced "oy-yas")—at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) was established in 2003 as the result of ongoing efforts made by the faculty, staff, and students of the UNO Chicano/Latino Studies (CLS) Program, a federal appropriation made possible by the U.S. Department of Education and the support of the Greater Omaha community. OLLAS helps fill a void in the Nebraska and Great Plains region's academic infrastructure by being dedicated to the productive incorporation of the new and growing Latino population into the political, economic, and social life of the region. Equally important is the development of our institutional capacity in providing a platform for academic initiatives aimed at improving our collective and evolving understanding of Latino/Latin American issues important to the region. Included in these critical initiatives are our groundbreaking major in Latino/Latin American Studies (LLS) and minor in CLS. The office and its program initiatives—academic, research, and community engagement related—play a critical role in helping students, faculty, businesses, policymakers, and community organizations acquire and enhance the necessary skills to develop the type of collaborative capacity-building models required for success in the increasingly complex global and demographically diverse environment.