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Georgina Falú Pesante (April 23, 1939-) is a university executive, community organizer, professor, and Pan-Africanist.
Early life and education
Falú was born on April 23, 1939 in Puerto Rico to María Magdalena “Malen” Pesante Santana and Juan “Juanín” Falú Zarzuela.[1] She was one of their eleven children, including Malín Falú.[2] Juanin Falú was a civil servant who founded the League to Promote the Advancement of Blacks in Puerto Rico. Juanin's father, Pedro Falú, was the first Afro-Puerto Rican Santurce Municipal Assembly president. In 2009, she traced her lineage to Senegal’s Falú clan. [1]
Falú attended Pedro Gerónimo Goyco Elementary and Central High School, graduating in 1957. In 1961, she graduated from University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus (UPR-RP) with her BA in accounting, and went on to get an MBA from UC Berkeley (1964).[1] She later earned her MA and Ed.D. in Higher Education Finances from Columbia University (1980-1983).[1] She also attended the Harvard Graduate School of Business (1970).[1][3]
In 1969, Falú married Roy A. Hollingsworth., with whom she had one son, Rey Hollingsworth Falú.[1]
Career in academia
Falú began her academic career working at the UPR-RP in 1961. She was tenured in 1965, and continued working there until 1985. In 1972, she was appointed dean of the UPR-RP College of Business, making her the first Black person, woman, and youngest appointed person in the position. She later became the first woman to serve as vice president of administration at Union Theological Seminary (1976-1979).[1]
In 1972, Falú became the first Black person, woman, and youngest appointed UPR-RP College of Business dean. She worked at Baruch College from 1975-1976 and then became the first woman to serve as vice president of administration at Union Theological Seminary in New York City (1976-1979). She taught at SUNY-Old Westbury (1980-1995, tenured 1982) and served as a dean of Touro College in 1986.[1] She later worked at City College of New York (CCNY) as an Adjunct Professor in the Black Studies Department[3]
Community and Pan-Africanist work
In 1984, Falú met kemetaphysician Dr. Yosef ben-Jochannan, who encouraged her to explore her African heritage.[4]
In 1988, Falú sold her home in El Señoral, Puerto Rico and founded the Universal Business and Media School in Spanish Harlem. The school ran through 2001, when it was closed as the state Department of Education was investigating it or violations.[1][5] She was the first Afro-Puerto Rican woman to own an accredited US business school. In 1988, she also founded the Falú Foundation to serve low-income communities and engage in African diaspora history. The Falú Foundation also translates popular titles into Spanish[1] and provides scholarships to minorities and encourages the development of minority-owned businesses,[6] and runs technology program for the community.[7]
In 2005, Falú founded the AFROLAA Project (Afro-Latinos of the Americas) to help Spanish-speaking Afro-descendants learn about their African heritage. In 2014, she cofounded the Elombe Brath Foundation.[1] She also created the upper Manhattan community's first Internet center.[7]
Falú also organizes conferences. In 1994, she organized a first annual Silicon Barrio conference.[6] Between 2015 and 2018, she organized the first Puerto Rican Afro-descendant Congresses.[1]
Falú is a member of the World African Diaspora Union and active in the African Strategic and Peace Research Group (AFSTRAG).[4][8]
Awards
- 1974: Woman of the Year in Education
- 1999: Seventh Annual Women's History Month Awards Ceremony, Inner City Women's Committee[9]
- 2014: Woman of Distinction
- 2018: Featured in Latin Roots East Harlem Exhibition[10]
- Georgina Falú first female Dean of the Management School at the University of Puerto Rico [1], [2], [3], [4]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Guzmán, Will (2020-04-27). "Georgina Falú (1939- ) •". Retrieved 2025-02-11.
- ^ "Locutora Maln Falu y su familia encuentran sus races en Senegal." El Nuevo Hudson (NJ), 12 July 2001, p. 7. NewsBank: Access World News.
- ^ a b "Georgina Falú, PhD | NYSenate.gov". www.nysenate.gov. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
- ^ a b AUTODIDACT 17 (2016-05-12). "Dr. Georgina Falú: Preserving our ancestors' legacies". New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Staff, NYO. "There's No Poetry In This Garden." New York Observer, The (NY), sec. Media&Society, 7 May 2001, p. 10. NewsBank: Access World News.
- ^ a b "Bringing Technology to the Barrio". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
- ^ a b White, N. N. (2003, Dec 17). Falu foundation teaches technology in harlem. New York Amsterdam News
- ^ Carrillo, K. J. (2005, Dec). Falu foundation's anniversary celebrates afro latinos. New York Amsterdam News.
- ^ CDO's women's history month event. (1999, Apr 21). New York Beacon
- ^ Horsford, Victoria. "WHAT'S GOING ON." Our Time Press (Brooklyn, NY), sec. Community News, 2 Oct. 2018. NewsBank: Access World News,