The Bacardi family legacy started more than 150 years ago in Santiago de Cuba with family patriarch, Don Facundo Bacardí Massó, who created the first mixable rum – what the world now knows today as BACARDÍ® – and pioneered cocktail culture, which emerged in more than 170 markets globally to become the largest privately held spirits company in the world.
In its over 50 year history, FIU is the youngest university in the State University System of Florida, but the first and only school in South Florida to achieve the prestigious “Emerging Preeminence” designation by the Florida Legislature. In 2019, FIU was ranked among the nation’s top 100 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The university has solidified its impact and importance in the community with more than 200,000 alumni, more than half of who live and work in South Florida.
As one of FIU’s 11 colleges, the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management is ranked as the #8 public hospitality school in the country by QS World Rankings 2022 and number one best online Bachelor’s in Hospitality Management in the US for the fifth year in a row by Best Colleges.
Together, the Bacardi-FIU partnership imprints the Bacardi family legacy in our educational programs. A full-bodied partnership experience, hospitality students and industry are working together to position Bacardi as a driver of cutting-edge research, innovative internships and a first-ever Bacardi-branded spirits curriculum. The Bacardi-FIU partnership is a welcome synergy across two FIU campuses and among generations of FIU and Chaplin School alumni, who may have a strong affinity for Bacardi.
The Bacardi-FIU partnership is building community, industry and education and making a splash in the bartender entrepreneur community.
In addition to its presence at the Chaplin School, Bacardi is calling CasaCuba at FIU its new home. Serving a city shaped by Cuban immigrants that today is home to nearly one million Cubans, FIU has a longstanding connection with this community. As one of the largest concentrations of Latin American and Caribbean Studies scholars in the country, through CasaCuba, we will strengthen the momentum of our brand-new CasaCuba initiative, branding FIU as the premier hub for Cuban research and culture.
CasaCuba at Florida International University brings together scholars, policymakers, business leaders, students, and the community at large to realize a multidimensional Cuban cultural center and think tank that facilitates the discussion and study of Cuban affairs – history, policy, business – and the celebration of Cuban heritage. CasaCuba has attracted influential board members, recruited a uniquely qualified team, secured a prominent site on the FIU campus and once complete will feature galleries for interactive exhibits, as well as a state-of-the-art venue for events, performances, and dynamic programming including a Bacardi space.
The Bacardi space at CasaCuba provides perpetual opportunities to engage guests and students and activate the Bacardi Center of Excellence at Modesto A. Maidique Campus and in the community.
Visit CasaCuba for more information.
