The University of Miami has appointed María de Lourdes Dieck-Assad to a newly created role as vice president for Hemispheric and Global Affairs. A world-renowned economist who has held positions in academia, business and government, including serving as Mexico’s ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg and chief of the Mexican Mission to the European Union, she begins her new post at the University on August 15.
Dieck-Assad is currently dean emeritus and distinguished professor of economics at the Graduate School of Business Administration (EGADE Business School) at the Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM) in Monterrey, Mexico.
As vice president for hemispheric and global affairs at UM, she will promote, coordinate and oversee collaborative arrangements between the University and world-wide partners, with a special focus on the Americas. Dieck-Assad will directly oversee the Hemispheric University Consortium, which will advance research and education throughout the Americas, and will play a key role in the Hemispheric Innovation Hub, which will promote innovation, entrepreneurship and new ventures in Miami.
“I cannot think of anyone better qualified to take on this strategic task,” UM President Julio Frenk said in making his announcement to the University community. “Dr. Dieck-Assad brings with her a wealth of experience that will guide our engagement and collaboration efforts throughout the Americas and the globe.”
Dieck-Assad will also work diligently to identify opportunities and engage with academic institutions, businesses, non-governmental organizations and governments throughout Latin America, the Caribbean and North America, as well as worldwide where synergies exist. She will develop a hemispheric platform that will serve all parts of UM to facilitate collaborations throughout the hemisphere.
“I am thrilled at the opportunity to join the University of Miami community and represent the institution on a hemispheric and global scale,” said Dieck-Assad. “I look forward to serving the University, strengthening relationships and establishing new ones in this role.”
A board member of several national and international Boards, Dieck-Assad has served since 2014 on the World Economic Forum task force for the study of competitiveness and productivity challenges for Latin America. She is a respected author, publishing extensively on economics and political economic topics, and has received multiple honors throughout her career, including the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown, which is the highest honor awarded by the Government and the King of Belgium, for her achievements as Mexican ambassador to Belgium.
In the public sector, she was appointed by President Vicente Fox as ambassador of Mexico to Belgium and Luxembourg, chief of the Mexican Mission to the European Union and permanent representative before the European Union. She was also under-secretary of Economic Affairs and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chief of Staff at the Ministry of the Economy.
In the academic field, Dieck-Assad was professor and researcher of the Economics Department (undergraduate and graduate programs) and director of the Ph.D. Program in Management at ITESM. Simultaneously, she was a consultant at ITESM’s Center for Strategic Studies and was also professor and chair of the Economics Department at Trinity University in Washington, D. C. and economics professor at Anahuac University in Mexico City. Her extensive experience in academic administration has included several leadership positions at ITESM, one of the top ranked universities in Latin America. These include being Dean of EGADE Business School, Dean of the School of Government, Social Sciences and Humanities, Dean of the School of Public Policy and Director of the Santa Fe Campus in Mexico City.
A board member of several national and international Boards and a consultant for national and international organizations such as the World Bank, Dr. Dieck-Assad has served on the World Economic Forum task force for the study of competitiveness and productivity challenges for Latin America. As an author, she has published extensively on economics and political economic topics.
Dieck-Assad received her B.A. degree from ITESM, her M.A. degree from Vanderbilt University – where she studied on a Fulbright Scholarship – and her Ph.D. from University of Texas at Austin, all in economics.
