The announcement Tuesday that the United States will restore full diplomatic relations with Cuba comes as Dartmouth prepares to launch an advanced-studies exchange with the Casa de las Americas and the University of Havana that will allow Dartmouth students to study and faculty to do research in Cuba, and potentially bring Cuban students to Hanover.

Professor Lynn Higgins, associate dean for interdisciplinary and international studies, says the loosening of restrictions on Cuban exchanges will facilitate the academic and scholarly collaboration that the new exchange was created to build.

“I’m very excited about it,” Higgins says. “For me, the importance is that it opens up communications—scholarly and academic communications—and opens up more opportunities for both students and faculty.”

At Dartmouth, Reacting to the News About Cuba

College experts weigh in on the resumption of relations between the U.S. and Cuba, and talk about why the Cuba embargo should end.

Read the full story.

Beginning next fall, Dartmouth students will be able to enroll in the 15-week Dartmouth exchange in collaboration with the Consortium for Advanced Studies Abroad (CASA), the Casa de las Americas and the University of Havana. The consortium was founded by the Ivy Plus institutions of Brown University, Cornell University, Columbia University, Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University, and The University of Pennsylvania.

Higgins says she expects the exchange, which has been in development for nearly a year, to grow over time, allowing for faculty to conduct scholarly research at the Casa de las Americas and the University of Havana and for Cuban students to come to Dartmouth. Enrollment is available through The Frank J. Guarini Institute for International Education website.