Dr. Maura Toro-Morn, professor of sociology and director of Latin American and Latino/a Studies, will deliver the 2022 Spring College Lecture at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 25 in Section I of the Brown Ballroom in the Bone Student Center. Her lecture, “Gendered Migrations in the Age of Global Disruption,” is free and open to the public.
“Since joining the Illinois State University faculty, Dr. Toro-Morn has worked tirelessly to help promote diversity, one of the University’s core values,” said Interim Dean Dr. Diane Zosky. “Her research addresses some of the most pressing issues of our time—global migrations and inequality. It is important work, and I invite all members of the University and Bloomington-Normal communities to join me on April 25 for what promises to be a rewarding evening.”
Toro-Morn is the author, with Ivis García, of Puerto Ricans in Illinois. She is a coeditor of Immigrant Women Workers in the Neoliberal Age and has published essays in the Latino Studies Journal, Centro: Journal of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, and the Journal of Latino/Latin American Studies.
“My presentation represents a culmination of over two decades of engagement studying Latino/Puerto Rican migrations to Illinois,” said Toro-Morn. “It builds upon my early work in Chicago, and it extends to the entire state as the presence of Puerto Ricans is now felt across the state. This work is particularly meaningful for me because it consolidates my reputation as a scholar of the Puerto Rican diaspora, and it allowed me to collaborate with and mentor a junior scholar, Ivis García, my co-author, someone who is now poised to develop this kind of work in other parts of the United States.”
In 2017 Toro-Morn was named an Outstanding College Researcher. A recipient of the 2020 David A. Strand Diversity Achievement Award, Toro-Morn is also one of the founding members of CAUSA, Illinois State’s Committee Assisting Undocumented Student Achievement. The organization advocates to secure resources and to help community members become more aware of the problems and issues faced by undocumented and dacamented students and their families.
Toro-Morn holds a bachelor’s degree from Interamerican University in San German, Puerto Rico, a master’s degree from Illinois State University, and a Ph.D. from Loyola University of Chicago.
