RICHARDSON, Texas (Sept. 15, 2003) – For the third consecutive year, the Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) will offer its educational lecture series about topics of interest to both the United States and Mexico.

For the 2003-04 series, which begins Saturday, Oct. 4, U.S.-Mexico scholars, including Ana Cervantes, Dr. Peter M. Ward, Dr. Habib Chamoun-Nicolas, Alfonso Oñate and Monica Verea, will share their expertise about such topics as Mexican classical music, bi-national housing policies, management negotiations between the two nations, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) labor affairs and U.S.-Mexico migration after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Previous lectures have addressed such issues as the implementation of NAFTA, analysis of domestic politics and foreign policy, issues in science and technology, trans-border population and cultural development in both countries.

The lectures, which are free and open to the public, will be held on the UTD campus and will conclude with a question-and-answer segment. The 2003-04 schedule is as follows:

  • Ana Cervantes – Oct. 4 at 8 p.m., Jonsson Performance Hall – “Agua y Piedra” (Water and Stone), piano performance – In 2002, soloist and collaborative artist Cervantes received a grant from the Bossak-Heilbrun Charitable Foundation to further develop musical repertoire from the U.S. and Mexico, to be performed in both countries. Cervantes maintains an extensive concert and teaching schedule and is based in Guanajuato, Mexico.
  • Dr. Peter M. Ward – Oct. 21 at 12:30 p.m., Jonsson Building, Room 4.102 – Colonias and Housing Policy in Texas – Learning from Mexico – Ward holds the C.B. Smith, Sr. Centennial Chair in U.S.-Mexico Relations at The University of Texas at Austin. In 2000, he was awarded the Ohtli Medal by the Mexican government for his knowledge of Mexico and for his services to bi-lateral understanding. Ward is author of 14 books and more than 70 scholarly articles.
  • Dr. Habib Chamoun-Nicolas – Nov. 3, time and location TBD – Management Negotiations Between the U.S. and Mexico – Chamoun has trained more than 5,000 business professionals about Mexican sales and negotiation. He is the author of two books and is the founder of Global AZEZ and Key Negotiations, LLC, whose missions are to help clients – via workshops, seminars, simulations and consulting services – develop business in Spanish-speaking countries.
  • Alfonso Oñate – Feb. 3 at 2 p.m., Jonsson Building, Room 4.614 –U.S.-Mexico Labor Relations After NAFTA – Oñate was appointed jointly by the minister of labor of Canada, the secretary of labor and social welfare of Mexico and the secretary of labor of the United States as the executive director of the NAFTA labor commission. In that role, he works to advance labor rights and labor standards as part of expanding trade relations in the North American region.
  • Monica Verea – March 2 at 2 p.m., Jonsson Building, Room 4.614 – U.S.-Mexico Migration Relations: Before and After September 11th – Verea is director of the department of inter-institutional collaboration at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City. She is a specialist in contemporary migration in the North American region as well as in Mexico-U.S.-Canada relations. Verea has written two books about migration between the countries.

For additional information about the lecture series, please contact Gabriela Carrera at gaby@student.utdallas.edu or (972) 883 6401, or visit the center’s Web site at http://www.utdallas.edu/research/cusms/lectureseries.htm.

About the Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies
The Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies was created in 1995 in response to UTD’s recognition of the richness of the Mexican-American relationship and history, as well as the importance of Mexico to the United States. The center strives to enhance the academic relationship between UTD and Mexico via international education, research and public service programs. Goals of the center are to provide curricula and exchange of faculty and students with Mexican universities, to conduct research and present lectures on issues of interest to both Mexico and the U.S. and to prepare individuals for leadership on critical business, political, scientific, technological and cultural issues of concern to both countries.

About UTD
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor, enrolls about 14,000 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s web site at www.utdallas.edu.