New professor of Black Studies becomes first faculty resident at Ridgeview Hall

SUNY New Paltz has appointed Cruz Bueno as visiting assistant professor of Black Studies. Bueno, who holds a Ph. D. in economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will take an 18-month leave of absence from her position as assistant professor of economics at Siena College to assume a temporary position at New Paltz.

This semester Bueno will lead three courses in the Black Studies Department: two sections of Race and Racism in U.S. History, and one section of Blacks in the Caribbean, 1492-Present. These courses are directly in line with Bueno’s teaching and research background, which largely focuses on the web of social forces that produce economic inequality, often at the disproportionate expense of people of color.

“I am thrilled to be coming to SUNY New Paltz and a Black Studies Department where I can apply my economics background to discuss issues of race, racism and inequality, and invite students to think about their impacts on human well-being,” Bueno said. “In my work I try to bridge the gap between Black studies and economics, or Black studies and women’s studies, and my goal is to stimulate that same intellectual curiosity and agency in my students.”

As part of her appointment Bueno will also move into the faculty apartment at the new Ridgeview Hall, which opened in August 2015. In filling this space Bueno also fills an important new role at the College: assuming responsibility for organizing two student-centered events per month throughout the semester, and for serving as a mentor and advisor to students more generally.

“I am really excited to be a faculty in residence and to begin programming events to enrich student life at Ridgeview Hall,” Bueno said. “Working with students is an honor and a pleasure for me. My goal is to create a safe and vibrant intellectual space where everyone feels empowered to discuss and raise questions from an academically informed place. I want to get input from students, to hear about what kinds of activities they would like to see, and put on events that encourage everyone to be social, but that also let me share my academic interests.”

Prior to coming to SUNY New Paltz, Bueno instructed at Wesleyan University, Central Connecticut State University and most recently at Siena College. She has presented at a number of regional and national professional conferences on subjects including gender violence and poverty in the Dominican Republic and other Latin American and Caribbean nations, and is a recipient of the 2014 Rhonda Williams Prize from the International Association for Feminist Economics, an award given to a young scholar for research that is activist-oriented and addresses issues of gender, race and class.