Frances Negrón-Muntaner

Frances Negrón-Muntaner is the Julian Clarence Levi Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University and founding curator of the Latino Arts and Activism Archive and the Gallery at the Center. She specializes in Puerto Rican culture, Latinx studies, media analysis, and social justice. Her work bridges academia and activism through projects like Valor y Cambio, which reimagines economic systems through art and storytelling.

Education and affiliations: Columbia University (current role). Previous leadership roles include director of Columbia’s Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race (2009–2016) and co-director of Unpayable Debt (2016–2019), a global debt-study initiative. She also served as director of the Center for the Study of Social Difference’s working group on debt regimes.

Research interests focus on media representation, decolonial theory, and the intersection of art with socio-economic justice. Her films and books address colonial legacies, migration, and cultural identity. Recent projects include Valor y Cambio, an artivist initiative addressing Puerto Rico’s austerity-driven crisis, and Caribbean Syllabus: Life and Debt in the Caribbean.

Awards & Recognition:

• CHOICE Award (2004)
• Lenfest Award (2012)
• Frank Bonilla Public Intellectual Award (2019)
• UN Rapid Response Media Mechanism Global Expert designation (2008)

Grants and fellowships include Ford, Truman, Rockefeller, and Pew fellowships. She advises on projects like Valor y Cambio and collaborates with institutions such as MIT’s Art, Culture, and Technology Program.

Labs/Teams: Latino Arts and Activism Archive, Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, and Valor y Cambio collective.