Visiting Academics

Matías Romero Visiting Chair in Mexican Studies

The Matías Romero Visiting Chair in Mexican Studies was created in 2003 through an educational and research cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Mexico and UT Austin. Its purpose is to promote the presence and participation of distinguished Mexicans from the public and private sectors, as well as from academia, to foster greater understanding of Mexican culture and society.

For more information, contact Gail Sanders at 512.232.2423.

Matías Romero Visiting Professors

Spring 2008

Rodolfo Cruz

Dr. Cruz is Director of the Population Studies Department at the Colegio de la Frontera del Norte in Tijuana, Baja California. He has taught numerous courses on demography there and at San Diego State University. Dr. Cruz also has published widely on Mexican migration patterns and on immigration, border labor forces, and the gender dynamics of labor participation along the U.S.-Mexico border. He earned his Ph.D. in sociology from The University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree from the Colegio de México in Mexico City. During his semester in Austin, Dr. Cruz will teach a graduate seminar on international migration, with a focus on Mexican migration to the U.S. He also will participate in a major conference on immigration that will be hosted by LLILAS in April 2008.

Spring 2007

Gustavo Chapela

Dr. Chapela is former director of Mexico’s National Science and Technology Council (CONACYT). In addition to CONACYT, he was Director of the Mexican Institute of Oil (Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo) and President of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana. Dr. Chapela has published extensively in many prestigious journals and has been a visiting professor at Oxford University and the University of Minnesota. He holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of London and a master’s degree from Rice University. During his stay in Austin, Dr. Chapela will be teaching the course Higher Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation: The Value Chain of Scientific Knowledge.

Spring 2006

Jaime Parada Avila
Professor Parada Avila was the first Matías Romero Visiting Professor.

He has been the General Director of the National Council for Science and Technology in Mexico, where he developed education policy to promote higher education and increase value for developments in the fields of science and technology. He also has worked in the private sector as a Chief Technology Officer for Celulosa y Derivados, where he was a national leader in portfolio management,innovation and technology, and manufacturing and quality systems issues. For the past thirty years, he has been a leader in Mexico in the fields of business management, product development, higher education, consultancy in engineering, innovation programs, and manufacturing and quality systems.

Prof. Parada Avila will arrive in spring 2006 and will teach the graduate course Science, Technology, and Development: Mexico's Challenge and the USA's Role.