The David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies has had an immense impact on the Harvard community since its founding in 1993. Over the last fifteen years, it has provided invaluable support towards Harvard faculty research, teaching, and professional activities relating to Latin America. In the 2007-08 academic year, DRCLAS assisted over 370 students to travel to the region to conduct thesis-related research, participate in study abroad programs or work in one of the Center’s many Summer Internship Program (SIP) positions.

These accomplishments have been made possible through the generous support of an array of financial backers, many of whom have participated in the Center’s Corporate Partners Program (CPP). Founded in 1997, this innovative program has sought to promote mutually beneficial collaboration on issues of shared importance between members of the Harvard community and the Center’s corporate benefactors.

Since its inception, membership in the program has grown from 2 to over 20 companies, including firms from a range of industries and business sectors. Most recently, the member roster has included corporations from Chile, El Salvador, Mexico, and Venezuela, as well as several U.S. companies with business interests in the region.

This year, in an effort to enhance and improve the Center’s relationship with its supporters, the Corporate Partners Program has been reconfigured into a new and improved initiative: Friends of the Center.

The Friends of the Center program seeks to expand the Center’s base of support by appealing to both corporate sources as well as private individuals who share an interest in furthering the research of Harvard professors and students in Latin America.

Much like the CPP, the Friends of the Center Program offers companies with interests in Latin America a chance to harness Harvard’s unparalleled academic expertise on the issues facing the region. Friends of the Center are invited to participate in executive-level seminars on business in Latin America, directed by prominent scholars and cutting-edge industry leaders. These events address compelling economic, political, and social trends in Latin America, and offer members a chance to interact in an informal setting with a group of leading experts from academia and the private sector.

Friends of the Center also help create opportunities for education and innovative scholarship that lie at the heart of the Center’s mission. Funding from the program goes to support Harvard faculty members’ research on topics important to the future of business in the region, including trade and corporate social responsibility.

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>> Membership Process [1]

>> Membership List [2]

>> Membership Benefits [3]