Harvard Alum Gather in Mexico
Harvard University alumni and friends gathered in the heart of Mexico City for the latest event in the Your Harvard series. President Drew Faust, faculty members and local alumni celebrated the many connections shared by Harvard and Mexico.
Your Harvard is a global series of events organized by the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) that will take place throughout The Harvard Campaign. Alumni have already convened in London, Los Angeles and New York to hear about the future of the University and discuss cross-disciplinary perspectives with faculty on the challenges facing society.
More than 500 alumni came together at the Colegio de San Ildefonso, which was reopened in 1994 as a museum and cultural center that features some of the earliest examples of the Mexican muralist movement.
President Faust noted in her address that she was the fifth consecutive president of Harvard to travel to Mexico, lauding the longtime connections between the University and a country that more than 1,200 alumni call home.
Strengthening that connection for the past quarter century, the Fundación México en Harvard, A.C. was established to provide financial support for residents accepted to graduate and postgraduate programs at Harvard. To date, nearly $12 million has been awarded to make Harvard a reality for hundreds of students from Mexico.
Students who receive a Fundación scholarship are required to return to Mexico after their studies to work in the country for at least two years.
Enrique Tellez Kuenzler, M.B.A. ’91, the Fundación’s president, celebrated the organization’s work by proudly noting that Mexicans now make up the largest number of Harvard students from Latin America. This past year alone, 98 Mexican students were enrolled at Harvard.
Faust also noted that digital learning is shrinking the distance between Mexico and Cambridge. Since the 2012 launch of HarvardX, more than 20,000 Mexican students have participated in the dozens of online courses created by faculty from across the University.
About the Author
Erin Purcell
Staff Writer, covering MetroMBA's news beat for New York, Philadelphia, and Boston.
