LLILAS Director Honored as Distinguished Mexican of 2025
- Dec 11, 2025
Adela Pineda Franco, director of the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS), was honored with the award for Distinguished Mexican of 2025 in a ceremony at the Mexican Consulate in Austin this past Thursday, November 20. The distinction is conferred on behalf of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Relations.
The award recognizes the contributions of Mexicans outside Mexico, or persons of Mexican heritage, to the prestige and positive image of Mexico through their work in the sciences, academia, technology, business, creativity or innovation, and for the benefit of society in general.
Speaking before some 200 guests, Mexican Consul-General Humberto Hernández Haddad presented Pineda Franco with a commemorative medal and award certificate, citing her “distinguished academic trajectory in the United States,” most recently at the helm of the LLILAS at The University of Texas at Austin.
The Consul-General also emphasized the organization’s “notable contributions to education, research, and dissemination of knowledge about Latin America in the U.S.” in diverse fields.
In her own address, Pineda Franco reflected on the intellectual, cultural and educational richness housed within the institute, which serves a hub of research and teaching that engages with virtually every corner of Latin America.
One of the world’s foremost educational organizations fostering Latin American studies, LLILAS has housed a center dedicated to Mexican studies for the last 45 years, supporting and encouraging cross-border collaboration and cultural exchange between UT Austin and Mexico in a wide array of fields.
