The Conference on Resources and Research in Haiti developed from a series of informal discussions between Dr. Richard P. Schaedel of the University of Texas and a small group of Haitian nationals working with international agencies in New York and Washington, D.C.. The Ford Foundation and the Joint Committee of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) provided financial support for the conference. The Research Institute for the Study of Man (RISM) and the City University of New York (CUNY) were responsible for organizing the event, which attracted participants from the Caribbean, Canada, Europe, Africa, South America, and the United States.
The primary goal of the conference was to lend support to Haiti by formulating short- and long-term solutions to the political and economic turmoil caused by the Duvalier government. However, participating scholars and professionals, representing the fields of economics, anthropology, psychology, political science, history, public health education, and library science, were also encouraged to develop common interests across their respective disciplines.
During the final plenary session of the conference, a provisional committee was organized to establish a permanent center for Haitian research. Founding members of the newly formed committee included Dr. Francois Latortue, who served as president, Dr. Emerson Douyon, vice president, and Mr. Max H. Dorsinville, executive secretary. Dr. Richard P. Schaedel and Dr. Vera Rubin held advisory roles. By March 1968 the provisional committee finalized its governing statutes for ratification, and the Center for Haitian Studies (CHS) was formally established as a permanent organization headed by an executive committee. All CHS operations were based at the headquarters of RISM.
In an attempt to keep the international community apprised of its activities, CHS published its first newsletter in October 1968, along with numerous research and training opportunities. With the financial assistance of RISM, committee members began organizing the November 1967 conference proceedings, which were eventually compiled and edited by Dr. Schaedel. Published as The Haitian Potential: Research and Resources of Haiti, high demand for the proceedings generated a second edition, published by Teachers College Press of Columbia University, in 1975.
Between 1969 and 1970, CHS sought ways to establish a permanent financial base and to actualize its goals through a yearly calendar of activities. The intent of these efforts was to gain greater access to research facilities and to provide funding for visiting scholars and postgraduate training endeavors. After conducting a search for affiliates and sponsors among American and Canadian Universities, CHS invited Dr. H. William Hutchinson of the University of Miami, Dr. Lambros Comitas of Teachers College, and Dr. Robert Rotberg of MIT to join its executive committee.
Dr. Rotberg organized a series of seminars on Haiti, co-sponsored by CHS and MIT. The seminars culminated in a second major conference, Culture and Development in Haiti, held at the University of Montreal in 1970. Following the conference, CHS executive committee members voted to transfer the Center's operations permanently to the University of Montreal.
Sources:
Final Report to the Ford Foundation, 1968 (Series II, folder 7) "Center for Haitian Studies Established," press release, June 10, 1968 (Series III, folder 3)"Haiti Research Group Planned," Miami Herald, November 11, 1967
