At the law school, Trucios-Haynes directs an immigration placement which offers opportunities for students and community volunteers to visit to the Boone County Jail, where immigration detainees are held in the custody of the ICE bureau of the Department of Homeland Security.

Additionally, Trucios-Haynes is currently serving as interim director of the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice and is co-founder and co-director of the Brandeis Human Rights Advocacy Program, which was established in spring 2014 to focus on immigrant, noncitizen and refugee rights.

In her “spare” time, Trucios-Haynes serves on the Metro Louisville Ethics Commission by appointment and is the secretary of the board of the Hispanic-Latino Coalition of Louisville. She also serves on ACLU of Kentucky boards.  

Trucios-Haynes managed to find some time to talk to UofL News about her objectives as Faculty Senate chair, what motivates her to be heavily involved in the community, and some of her favorite things about Louisville.

UofL News: How long have you been involved in Faculty Senate and why did you join?

Trucios-Haynes: I have been a member since 2000. I joined because I was interested in university-wide and faculty welfare issues beyond the law school.  I became a member of the executive committee a few years later and have served on that committee every semester except when I was on sabbatical. I was chair of the Redbook committee before I was elected vice chair, and I served on the ad-hoc committee that developed the revised faculty grievance policy in 2010.

UofL News: What compelled you to seek out the chairmanship?

Trucios-Haynes: I have always been interested in faculty well-being since coming to University of Louisville in 1993. Faculty, staff and students are essential in informing and shaping the long-term policy of any university. This makes universities a unique space in many respects. I had been in private law practice for many years and as a junior and senior associate before I became a faculty member. In those positions I did not have a voice in setting policy. 

UofL News: How do you balance all of the work you do on campus and in the community?

Trucios-Haynes: One thing that helps me is to remind myself that I cannot control everything although, like so many of us, I often wish I could. I also live by the principle of doing the hard things first which helps me to make sure that I am focusing on what needs my attention the most at any given time.

UofL News: How do you spend any free time you have?

Trucios-Haynes: I like to be outdoors – hiking, walking, cycling – whenever I can. I enjoy cycling and try to get out to the Parklands whenever possible. When I can’t, I go to spinning classes to get a good workout. I also like yoga and cooking.

UofL News: What is your favorite thing about UofL?

Trucios-Haynes: The people and its urban-metropolitan focus. Working with students is energizing to me, and their passion makes me want to do the best I can to engage them. I am inspired by the faculty who care deeply about this university and its mission. Working at the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice has helped me to meet so many faculty members who share my interests and who are passionate about racial and social justice issues. UofL is a special place because of all of the people who work here who are so friendly and always willing to help each other. 

UofL News: Where do you entertain guests from out of town?

Trucios-Haynes: One of my favorite places to take guests is Mammoth Cave. And, of course, the many great restaurants we have in Louisville now.

UofL News: What is your favorite restaurant?

Trucios-Haynes: My favorite restaurant is a place where I can eat comfort food – Havana Rumba. The food is very similar to the Puerto Rican food I grew up eating, especially the “platanos” (sweet plantains). 

UofL News: What motivates you to teach law?

Trucios-Haynes:  It is a privilege to teach. I hope that I help students think about the role of law in shaping our institutions in society and how policy is shaped by the advocacy of lawyers. I do this in my classes and with the law school’s Human Rights Advocacy Program. This is also our focus in the Ali Scholars Program of the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace & Justice.   

UofL News: If you could have lunch with any one person, living or dead, who would it be?

Trucios-Haynes: I would like to have lunch with Mary McLeod Bethune. I read a biography about her when I was very young (9 years old) that shaped my ideas about myself in the world as a person of color, the difference a person can make in the world, and how education and dedicated service to one’s community can make a difference. She was an educator, civil rights activist, and worked on racial justice issues with several presidential administrations.

UofL News: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Trucios-Haynes: I think one of the most important lessons I have learned was about leadership. I believe it is better to take on difficult issues directly and not worry about trying to shape the discussion. One piece of very helpful advice someone shared with me nearly 20 years ago was that if you want to be healthy and exercise regularly, you need to schedule it into your life.

UofL News: What do you hope to accomplish in your new role as Faculty Senate chair?

Trucios-Haynes: My goal is to ensure that the principles of shared governance are fully realized at the University of Louisville. Shared governance must include diversity and inclusion in all areas of the University’s operations in order to ensure the widest possible participation in decision-making. I am committed to our shared values of transparency and open communication. I will work to ensure there are mechanisms for input before decisions are made on matters that affect faculty welfare or have a large-scale impact on university constituencies. All of us want what is best for University of Louisville and the Faculty Senate is integral to building a 21st Century University.

The Ali Scholars began their learning journey in the city of Trujillo with visits to the ruins of several pre-Incan civilizations including the Moche and Chimu people at Chan Chan, as well as the lesser-known Cuspinique and Salinare cultures. During the trip there was also time for fun and relaxation at Huanchaco Beach, near Trujillo. Most of the visit occurred in Lima, where the students learned about Peruvian history at the National University Museum of Archeology, Anthropology and History, which features Peruvian history from 12,000 BC to the present day. 

The Ali Scholars also visited the newly opened LUM Museum (LUM – Lugar de la Memoria, la Tolerancia y la Inclusión Social – Space for Memory, Tolerance & Social Inclusion). The LUM museum is a civic, educational and cultural project, addressing the armed conflict in Peru between 1980 and 2000 between government forces and organizations fighting for greater representation of Andean communities. The conflict ended with a 2009 human rights trial of former President Alberto Fujimori. The museum is dedicated to recognizing and dignifying the victims of that period through reflection, exchange and commemoration with a special focus on young people who did not witness the violence.

The Ali Scholars learned about Peruvian social justice issues directly from a number of NGOs and the Peruvian Human Rights Ombuds Office, an independent government agency. The students met Sra. Ysabel Candia, founding director, of Family & Children NGO, which is a private non-profit organization created in Falls Church, Virginia in 2005. The students learned about human trafficking and child abuse in Lima and the Amazon region. 

The Ali Scholars’ visits to these organizations provided unique insights into the international dimensions of power, inequality and injustice in Peru. Other organizations, people and places they visited included:

• Institute of Health Studies, Sexuality and Human Development, led by Dr. Manolo Forno who founded the first LGBT organization in Peru in 1982. The Institute is an LGBT and HIV Rights Advocacy group engaged in research and reporting about LGBT issues with a current focus on the issues facing the transgender community. The presentation involved recent reports about different LGBT communities and discussions with transgender community organizers.
• La Casa de Panchita, (Children, Youth, and Women’s Shelter). This 26-year-old shelter is run by volunteers and provides support for children, teenagers and adult women who work as domestic employees. Here, the Ali Scholars attended two workshops: One workshop for children, primarily girls, at-risk of leaving school and becoming domestic workers due to poverty and other factors; and the second workshop, directed toward domestic workers who shared their stories and learned about their rights including the right to a contract. One of the women shared that she became domestic worker at age 7. The group also saw a play about “Panchita,” a teenager whose father lost his job, left for new work and never returned, which forced Panchita to move in with a neighbor to care for the neighbor’s child and, ultimately, drop out of school to become a domestic worker.
• The Scholars learned about the issues facing indigenous communities in the Amazon jungle and the Andean highlands, as well as the concerns of the Afro-descendant communities in Peru during their visit with the Peruvian Human Rights Ombudsperson, Dra. Alicia Abanto, and her staff of human rights lawyers and advocates.
• At the Afro-Peruvian Museum, a space where the group learned more about the development and history of slavery in Peru, the Scholars deepened their understanding about the role of African descendants in Peruvian culture. The museum celebrates the contributions the African culture and traditions have made to the Peruvian identity spanning from music, dance and folklore to religion, literature and gastronomy.
• The Ali Scholars visited the Flora Tristan Peruvian Women’s Center and participated in a roundtable discussion about women’s issues in Peru and the U.S. Flora Tristan is a feminist NGO with the goal of combating the structural causes that restrict women’s citizenship, equity and justice. It works on: strengthening of the political participation of women; the formulation public policies and legal reform initiatives; programs dedicated to strategic achievements for women; producing reports and other data for proposals; and outreach and education aimed at the general public.
• LUNDU: Center for the Study & Promotion of Afro Peruvians, & Lima. The Scholars visited LUNDU and learned about the Afro-Peruvian community in Lima and throughout Peru through presentations from its directors, Brenda Garay Rengifo and Ysabel Correa Salazar, as well from representatives of the Peruvian Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Women. LUNDU, a non-profit organization was founded in 2001, promotes the human rights of Afro descendant people in Peru through programs, advocacy and education through arts, education and research to address racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination from an intercultural and intergenerational perspective. LUNDU’s founder, Monica Carillo, was featured in the Black in Latin America film series by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
• Finally, Puckllay (which in the Quechua language means play) is an organization that works with theater, dance, music, visual arts, and communication. The organization develops and promotes art and artistic creations as a means of building community and enhancing the opportunities available to young people in the program. It is located in a shantytown (pueblos jovenes) on the outskirts of Lima. The Ali Scholars visited the Puckllay stage where they learned about indigenous music and instruments made by the children in the program, and shared dance moves learning a bit of tap dance and teaching some team-based dance moves.

This recap was written and submitted by Erika R. DeSha, senior program coordinator at the Muhammad Ali Institute, and Enid Trucios-Haynes, Professor of Law and interim director of the Muhammad Ali Institute.