Mexico Center

I assumed the directorship of the Mexico Center at LLILAS Benson in January 2017. During this time we have brought many distinguished speakers from Mexico such as the renowned journalist, Carmen Aristegui, Father Alejandro Solalinde, the celebrated human rights activist, and Denise Dresser, one of Mexico’s leading public intellectuals. We have also created many forums on critical topics, such as “Mexico’s Political Earthquake: The 2018 Elections, Democracy, and Bi-National Relations.” The center has hosted scores of scholars and researchers, many of whom come to collaborate with their UT counterparts.  However, the center has also ventured into new terrain.

My goal was to build upon the Center’s long tradition of outstanding programs and research within the College of Liberal Arts by extending our activities and developing deep collaborations with colleges and schools across the University of Texas campus.  For example, in collaboration with Dell Medical School’s Population Health Department we created Puentes-Health, a series conferences and interdisciplinary Convergent Science events that have brought UT researchers from across campus into collaborations with Mexican researchers and Mexican institutions, such as the Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica and the Instituto Nacional de Psiqiatría, to find solutions to the health challenges facing both countries. The Mexico Center has also created forums on US/Texas-Mexico issues in the energy sector with the McCombs School of Business, the Jackson School of Geosciences, and the LBJ School of Public Affairs, as well as collaborations with the School of Architecture on historic restoration and the relationship between urban architectural space and violence, and collaborations with the College of Education and Mexican educators.