May
11, 2005
Center For U.S.-Mexican Studies Celebrates 25 Years
Of Research On Mexico And The Binational Relationship
By Erik Lee
In celebration
of its 25th Anniversary, the UCSD Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies
will host a round-table discussion on political change in Mexico
followed by a celebration dinner honoring the Center’s
Founding Director, both on May 25.
The dinner, to be
held at the Hyatt Regency in La Jolla from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00
p.m., will honor Professor Wayne A. Cornelius for his accomplishments
as founder of the Center and will have as special guest speaker
Dr. Luis Carlos Ugalde, president of Mexico's Federal Electoral
Institute (IFE) and a graduate of the Center’s Summer
Seminar in U.S. Studies, who will speak on the Center’s
accomplishments in studying Mexico’s democratic transition
over the past 25 years. Dr. Ugalde will hold a press conference
on May 25 at 5:00 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency.
This same theme will
be the focus of a roundtable discussion to be held from 3:00
p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Center, which is located in the Institute
of the Americas complex on the UCSD campus. The discussion will
be moderated by the Center’s Director, Professor Christopher
Woodruff, and will feature a distinguished panel of experts,
including Professor Cornelius, National Action Party congressional
deputy Juan Molinar Horcasitas (a former Visiting Fellow at
the Center); former Mexican presidential candidate and Ambassador
to the United Nations Porfirio Muñoz Ledo; and political
science professor Federico Estévez from the Autonomous
Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM).
Commenting on the anniversary
events, Professor Woodruff said, “The focus on democratic
transition in Mexico is appropriate because this is where the
Center's contribution has been greatest during its first 25
years. Thanks to the vision of the Center's founding director,
Professor Wayne Cornelius, more than a thousand scholars and
young professionals have spent time at the Center, conducting
research and participating in programs. Through these programs,
the Center has contributed to bettering US-Mexican relations
and played a role in supporting the development of political
and economic institutions in Mexico.”
Numerous important
research initiatives on democratic transition and consolidation,
migration, environment, and economic development have been carried
out at the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies since its founding
in 1979. Over 150 volumes on Mexico and U.S.-Mexico relations
have been published under the auspices of the Center, which
has also created an alumni network of over 1000 former Visiting
Scholars and participants in the Summer Seminar in U.S. Studies.
Graduates of these programs hold important academic and public
sector positions in Mexico, the United States, and elsewhere.
Contact Erik
Lee at the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at (858) 822-0056
for information on both the roundtable discussion and the celebration
dinner, or visit the Center’s website at http://usmex.ucsd.edu.
Media Contacts: Erik
Lee, (858) 822 0056 or Barry
Jagoda (858) 534 8567
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