The SMU Mission Foods Texas–Mexico Center hosted its 9th Annual Integration Symposium on November 11, 2025, convening leading academic experts, industry leaders, and policymakers to showcase cutting-edge research produced by the Center in collaboration with top scholars from across North America. The symposium served as a platform to highlight original, policy-relevant research made possible through the Center’s funding and partnerships, and to demonstrate how this work advances understanding of the evolving Texas–Mexico relationship.
The symposium opened with remarks from Courtney Weeks (SMU Mission Foods Texas–Mexico Center) and Fernando Solís Cámara (GRUMA), who underscored the Center’s mission to generate research that informs binational dialogue and decision-making. They expressed gratitude to the Center’s partners, sponsors, and researchers whose support directly enables the research presented throughout the symposium.
The first keynote session featured two business leaders offering perspectives on the evolving U.S.–Mexico economic relationship. Francisco Cervantes Díaz (Consejo Coordinador Empresarial, CCE) discussed Mexico’s economic outlook and highlighted the private sector’s role in strengthening regional competitiveness amid nearshoring-driven shifts, emphasizing the need for cooperation and stable policies to fully capitalize on emerging opportunities. Larry Rubin (American Society of Mexico) followed by stressing the deep economic interdependence between both countries and the importance of sustained diplomatic engagement and institutional credibility. The session was moderated by Dr. Manuel Sánchez González (SMU Mission Foods Texas–Mexico Fellow and Former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Mexico), who connected these perspectives to larger North American economic trends that frame the Center’s research priorities.
The symposium continued with a conversation featuring Dean Janarthanan Jayawickramarajah (SMU Dean of Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences) and Dean Todd Milbourn (SMU Dean of the Cox School of Business), both members of the SMU Mission Foods Texas–Mexico Center’s executive and faculty leadership boards. Moderated by Dr. James Hollifield (Acting Director of the SMU Mission Foods Texas–Mexico Center and Political Science Professor), the discussion emphasized SMU’s commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship and highlighted the critical role academic institutions, such as the Mission Foods Texas–Mexico Center, play in educating leaders and advancing research that addresses complex binational challenges.
The afternoon program focused on presentations of original research funded by and conducted for the SMU Mission Foods Texas–Mexico Center. The first research presentation was delivered by Dr. René Cabral Torres (EGADE Business School, Tecnológico de Monterrey), with discussion by Dr. Raymond Robertson (Senior Fellow of the SMU Mission Foods Texas–Mexico Center and Director of the Mosbacher Institute at A&M University). The Center-supported research examined how nearshoring is reshaping trade flows, logistics, and economic integration between Texas and Mexico, underscoring the need for coordinated strategies and modernized border infrastructure to fully realize the economic benefits of these shifts.
The second Center-funded research presentation, led by Dr. Jorge Luis Alcaraz Vargas and Dr. Elizabeth Salamanca Pacheco (Universidad de las Américas Puebla, UDLAP), with discussion by Dr. Pia Orrenius (Senior Fellow of the SMU Mission Foods Texas–Mexico Center and Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas), explored the forces shaping high-skilled migration in North America. Drawing on research made possible through the Center’s support, the presenters examined how education, immigration status, age, and field of specialization influence entrepreneurial outcomes for migrants in the United States.
The third research presentation funded by and conducted for the Center featured Dr. Nayarani Lasala Blanco, Dr. Elena Sánchez Montijano, and Dr. Nuty Cárdenas Alaminos (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, CIDE), alongside Dr. Francisco I. Pedraza (Arizona State University), with discussion by Dr. Raymond Robertson. This collaborative project analyzed how cities along the U.S.–Mexico border respond to migration and coordinate with one another. The presenters compared high-flow metropolitan areas such as El Paso–Ciudad Juárez and San Diego–Tijuana with smaller municipalities facing more limited institutional capacity, highlighting how leadership, bureaucratic resources, and civil society engagement shape local responses.
The symposium concluded with remarks from David Salazar Cavazos (Vice Chairmain of the SMU Mission Foods Texas–Mexico Center Executive Advisory Board and Vice President of Legal Services at GRUMA), highlighted the importance of continued binational collaboration, evidence-based policymaking, and academic engagement in addressing the complex issues discussed throughout the afternoon. He closed by thanking the researchers, panelists, students, and attendees for contributing to a symposium designed to highlight and advance the Center’s research impact.
To access pictures from the event click here:
https://blog.smu.edu/texasmexico/files/2025/12/9th-Symposium-News-and-Pictures.pdf
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