Refugio "Will" Rochin, professor emeritus of agricultural and resource economics at UC Davis and currently a professor and director of the Julian Samora Research Institute at Michigan State University, has been appointed the first director of the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives. Rochin will oversee a variety of projects at the Smithsonian designed to increase awareness of the role and contributions of Latinos to the history and culture of the United States. Projects will include exhibitions, programs, collections and studies.