A new agreement between the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the Ministry of Health in Mexico City will facilitate research and academic exchanges.

Mexico City Mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera and José Armando Ahued, secretary of health, attended the signing ceremony with Thomas Jackiewicz, MPH, senior vice president and CEO for Keck Medicine of USC, and Rod Hanners, chief operating officer for Keck Medicine of USC and CEO for Keck Medical Center of USC.

“We look forward with great excitement to this latest chapter in the ongoing story of USC, Mexico City and the power of collaboration,” Jackiewicz said.

The number of degree-seeking students at USC from Mexico has more than doubled in the past five years, while new partnerships with leading Mexican universities have enriched academic scholarship at USC and in Mexico.

USC’s broad-reaching academic partnerships with Mexican institutions have addressed several issues, including drug abuse in Mexico City, aging and health among Mexico’s senior citizens and the alleviation of poverty in Yucatán.

— Cynthia Smith