Tec adds professors to prestigious international teaching program

With more than 40 global leaders in various disciplines, Tec de Monterrey’s Faculty of Excellence initiative brought together its faculty to welcome 13 of its new members and discuss the program’s future.

Faculty of Excellence Summit 2025 was held from February 5-6 at the Monterrey campus and was attended by international professors who have joined this initiative in the last three years, along with managers and other faculty.

Faculty of Excellence is a Tec de Monterrey initiative to attract 100 of the world’s top thought leaders and researchers to join its national schools as faculty of excellence.

The 13 new professors of excellence

Grisel Ayllón, Vice Rector of Faculty, highlighted the arrival of 13 new professors to the program, who join this high-level academic ecosystem of 43 professors of 14 different nationalities.

These are the new faculty members joining the Faculty of Excellence:

School of Social Sciences, Government, and Public Transformation

1. José Ramón Cossío: Former Justice of Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation; an expert in constitutional law and legal theory.

2. Agustina Giraudy: Specialist in political science; with studies oriented towards democratic and semi-authoritarian regimes in Latin America.

3. Sandra Ley: Political scientist; with studies oriented towards criminal violence in Mexico and its impact on political behavior.

4. Sebastián Mazzuca: Expert in political economy; with a focus on economic growth, inequality, and state formation in Latin America.

School of Humanities and Education

5. Claudia Uribe: Education policy analyst; former director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean; with a focus on access to quality education.

School of Medicine and Health Sciences

6. Juan Socorro Armendáriz: Expert in gene therapy; working in genomic medicine for fibrotic diseases.

7. Floyd Chilton: Specialist in functional genomics; with studies on gene-diet interactions and racial disparities in health.

8. Felicia Knaul: Global health expert; working in cancer research, health systems, and social development.

9. Alejandro Madrigal: Expert in transplantation immunology; with a focus on stem cell research and hematologic malignancies.

Business School

10. Tamara Carleton: Innovation strategist; working in corporate innovation forecasting and management.

11. Bryan Husted: Specialist in corporate social responsibility; with studies in sustainability and ethical business practices.

School of Architecture, Art, and Design

12. Travis Blaise: Animation and storytelling expert; former Disney animator with experience in digital animation and storyboarding.

School of Engineering and Science

13. Miguel Modestino: Electrochemical engineer; innovator in sustainable industrial decarbonization.

The impact of the Faculty of Excellence

During the event, executives such as David Garza, Executive President of Tec de Monterrey, joined the dialogue and encouraged professors to reflect on the impact of the initiative and its future.

“We’re entering the fourth year of our program of excellence. Without a doubt, it has been a wonderful initiative for us as we want to contribute to the development of our country and want that impact to go beyond Mexico,” he said.

Juan Pablo Murra, Rector of the Tec, thanked the professors for their trust in the institution.

“(Thank you) for committing part of your time, life, and work to be part of this program, which is highly relevant and strategic for what we want to achieve in the coming years,” he said.

In addition to thanking the leaders for joining, Murra used the space to highlight the institution’s capabilities in terms of transformation and how this faculty can drive such efforts.

“The Tec is a platform for transformation through education, excellence in education, impact research, applied research, and social impact projects,” remarked the Rector.

“Therefore, we have to ask ourselves how we’re going to harness these capabilities so that collectively we can create a better community and a more prosperous, sustainable, and just world that goes beyond the walls of the university,” he added.

According to Roberto Íñiguez, Executive Vice Rector for Academic Affairs and Faculty, this initiative is the Tec’s most important strategy for attracting world-class academic talent.

Íñiguez agreed that the objective of this program has been to recruit distinguished professors and researchers from various disciplines to strengthen academic development and boost the university’s impact.

“After three years of this initiative, we have more than 40 professors in the program (43 active contracts) plus some in negotiation for the future,” remarked the Executive Vice Rector about the professors of excellence in 2025.

“After three years of this initiative, we have more than 40 professors in the program (43 active contracts) plus some in negotiation for the future.” – Roberto Íñiguez

Mentoring, inspiration, and ecosystem building

For Murra, the three pillars on which Faculty of Excellence professors should work in the future are empowerment and working with peers, engagement with students, and the creation of long-term ecosystems.

“It’s about sharing your knowledge, experience, and vision to uplift those around you (...) inspiring a culture of continuous growth, collaboration, and excellence,” he said.

“I invite you to be more than teachers. Be mentors, guides, and catalysts for (your students’) aspirations. Challenge them to think critically, to dream, and to take actions that will shape the future,” he added.

The Rector also stressed the importance of creating legacies that go beyond the classroom, encouraging professors to cultivate networks of interdisciplinary collaboration and create structures around these networks that can continue, even in their absence.

Alejandro Poiré, the Tec’s Vice President of Outreach and Development, agreed with the executive president that geopolitical changes, along with the development of technology, continue to create a panorama of uncertainty, but above all, of possibilities.

“These changes allow us to reflect on the changes we need to make and the type of transformation that this group (Faculty of Excellence) aspires to and what it means for an institution like the Tec,” said the Vice President.

“As an institution and on behalf of the Vice President’s Office, we’re interested in understanding how we can use your talent, your intellectual curiosity, your profile, and your potential to highlight your academic activity,” he added.

How does this initiative impact the transformation process?

Feniosky Peña-Mora, the Tec’s Executive Vice President of Research and Dean of Engineering and Sciences, expressed some of the key expectations of faculty of excellence in keeping with the Tec’s goals.

According to the dean, the creation of strategic synergies becomes key when considering the Tec’s strategy to make an impact and get involved with the social, economic, and environmental spheres.

According to Peña-Mora, academics who are part of the initiative have access to a cutting-edge research ecosystem, as well as a collaborative network of global experts.

“What are our expectations for this faculty?” the Dean asked during his remarks.

“We expect there to be alignment with our strategic priorities, active and multidisciplinary collaboration, and efforts to secure funding and positioning for high impact quality research,” he said.

Victor Gutiérrez, Vice President of Learning for the Future, added that the Faculty of Excellence can also be linked to lifelong learning strategies by embracing the idea of supportive ecosystems.

The Vice President stressed the need to continue working and aligning efforts towards key areas such as the professional and personal development of students, technology, and innovation as part of education for the future.

Working sessions, networking, and reflection

As part of the meetup’s activities, the Tec’s six national schools organized work spaces for the distinguished professors to interact with the institution’s community and with each other.

Among the activities, there were academic dialogues and workshops based on the work and lines of research of some of the members of the Faculty of Excellence divided into central themes such as:

• Sustainable futures and inclusive communities
• Leadership, innovation, and social entrepreneurship
• Health, technology, and society

From these meetings, the different managers stressed the importance of taking advantage of these spaces to generate projects that can break down interdisciplinary barriers and encourage cooperation among peers.

During the second day of activities, David Garza took the opportunity to point out that the impact of this program goes beyond national boundaries, emphasizing the university’s desire to impact lives based on the opportunities provided by the current landscape and its challenges.

“We aspire to be among the top universities in Latin America and among the top 100 universities in the world. However, we don’t want to do it just for the rankings; we want to do it for the impact,” he said.

What is the Faculty of Excellence?

In 2021, the Tec created this initiative to attract 100 of the best leaders in various areas at the global level to contribute to the strategic areas of the institution’s national schools.

The professors of excellence are thought leaders, academics, and researchers with international recognition with whom the Tec seeks to broaden the learning experience.

In addition, the Tec seeks to promote international cooperation, innovation, diversity, and multidisciplinary research.

Through their work, the professors can also contribute to the positioning of the institution in different aspects, such as climbing in university rankings and boosting academic networking in global networks.

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