Grunwald to Leave Institute of Americas Post
Joseph Grunwald, internationally known economist and president of the Institute of the Americas, a Latin American studies organization based in La Jolla, will retire in January, he said Friday.
“The purpose for having me as president here was that I would put this institution on the map, get it to move forward dynamically,” Grunwald said, adding that he had agreed to lead the organization for three years.
Grunwald said the institute provides impartial information about Latin America to international groups, corporations, students and interested individuals through seminars, panel discussions, briefings, conferences and publications.
During Grunwald’s tenure, the institute sponsored the separate San Diego visits of the Argentine’s President Raul Alfonsin and Vice President Victor Martinez. The institute also sponsored panel discussions featuring Nicaraguan Contra leader Arturo Cruz and Nicaraguan Minister of Commerce Alejandro Martinez.
Grunwald, 67, helped build the independent organization, which is housed on the UC San Diego campus, with a $6-million grant from the Theodore E. Gildred Foundation, named for the former chairman of Lomas Santa Fe Companies who is now the U.S. ambassador to Argentina.
Grunwald said he will continue as an adviser to the institute and will teach a course on Latin American economic development at UC San Diego in the spring.
A native of Vienna, Austria, Grunwald has served as a deputy assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs, and was a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
The institute’s board of governors has launched an international search for Grunwald’s successor, with the choice to be announced this fall.
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