Authority on Mexico-U.S. relations to
join Maxwell School of Syracuse University faculty
A noted
Latin American scholar, policy maker, teacher, diplomat, and journalist has
been named the inaugural Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair at the Maxwell
School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University. Rafael Fernández de Castro, founder and chair
of the School of International Studies at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de
México (ITAM) and former foreign policy advisor to the president of Mexico, will
bring exceptional new depth and expertise to the School’s teaching and
scholarship on contemporary Mexico-U.S. affairs.
Joining the
Maxwell School in July 2014, de Castro will focus his research and teaching on Mexico-U.S.
trade issues, immigration policy, economic development and political economy in
Mexico, and social outcomes for Mexican immigrants in the U.S. He will also advise students who are
interested in studying or working in Latin America and will organize conferences
and symposia on topics related to Mexico-U.S. relations.
“Rafael
Fernández de Castro’s remarkable career as a scholar and as a policy maker will
further strengthen Maxwell’s special ability to bridge the worlds of research
and practice and will provide Maxwell students with an invaluable window into
Mexico-U.S. relations,” says Dean James Steinberg.
De Castro is
an expert on the bilateral relationship between Mexico and the United States,
as well as on Mexican foreign policy. He
has written and co-edited more than 30 books on Mexico-U.S. relations,
U.S.-Latin American relations, and Mexico’s foreign policy, including United States and Mexico: Between
Partnership and Conflict with Jorge Domínguez (also published in Spanish)
and The Controversial Pivot: The U.S.
Congress and North America with Robert Pastor (also published in Spanish).
From
1991-2008, de Castro was chair and professor at the School of International
Studies at ITAM; in June 2008, he was named foreign affairs advisor to the
president of Mexico and served in that position until February 2011. He coordinated the 2013-2014 United Nations
Development Programme’s Human Development Report for Latin America, “Citizen
Security with a Human Face: Evidence and
Proposals for Latin America.” He is the
founder of Foreign Affairs Latin America magazine;
the U.S.-Mexico Futures Forum with the University of California, Berkeley; the
Mexican Council on Foreign Relations, serving as its first vice president; the
Institute for European Integration Studies; and the Center for Inter-American
Studies and Programs, sponsored by the Ford Foundation.
De Castro
holds a PhD in political science from Georgetown University, an MA in public policy
from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas
at Austin, and a BA in social sciences from ITAM. He was awarded two Fulbright Fellowships and
a University of Texas Armand Hammer Fellowship.
Jay and Debe
Moskowitz, U.S. citizens who now make their home in Mexico, established the
chair to improve understanding of Mexico's economic and social importance to the
United States. “Unfortunately,” says Jay
Moskowitz, “too many Americans understand Mexico only through the lenses of
immigration and drug trade. In fact, Mexico is the United States’ fastest
growing neighbor and its influence and economic strength will only grow. It’s
crucial that Americans begin to better understand their connections to Mexico,
and well-supported university study is certainly a good place to begin.”
Jay Moskowitz is a Maxwell graduate, with a 1975
PhD in social science, and views de Castro as fitting a Maxwell faculty
tradition. “Many of the Maxwell professors I valued brought sound academic
research to bear on real world issues. While great scholars, they also engaged questions
of public policy. Debe and I are thrilled that Dr. de Castro fits that mold.”
De Castro was also featured in a recent Daily Orange piece. 02/13/14