Francisco Soto

Francisco Soto is a Professor in the field of Latin American Literature at the College of Staten Island (CUNY). He earned his PhD, MA, and BA from New York University. He has been a faculty member at CSI since 1993, previously teaching at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He served as the Acting Dean and then Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences from 2002 to 2009 before returning to full-time teaching and research. At CSI, he also supervised the Spanish and International Studies majors.

• PhD, New York University
• MA, New York University
• BA, New York University

His primary research interests are in Hispanic Caribbean Literature, Latino/Latina Literature, the Latin American Short Story, and Gender Studies in Latin America. His scholarship is deeply focused on the work of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas, on whom he is a leading authority. He has also published widely on broader topics within Latin American literary criticism and translation.

Professor Soto has received significant recognition for his work, most notably the First Prize from the Latin American Writers Institute Translation Awards in 1991. His scholarly output includes three authoritative books on Reinaldo Arenas, numerous book chapters, encyclopedia entries, and articles in top-tier literary journals such as Hispania, Revista Iberoamericana, and Inti. He has also published articles in major newspapers like Diario las Américas and El Nuevo Herald. His current projects involve essays on Latino/Latina literature and a collection on Arenas's lesser-known works in poetry, short stories, and drama.

• First Prize in the Latin American Writers Institute Translation Awards (1991) for 'The Humanities Professor,' a translation of 'El profesor de humanidades' by Julia Ortiz-Griffin

Francisco Soto has played a significant role in academic administration and program development at CSI, particularly in the humanities. He supervised the Spanish Major and the International Studies Major for nearly a decade and led the College of Humanities and Social Sciences as its Dean for six years, demonstrating a strong commitment to institutional leadership and the advancement of his academic disciplines.