The Rio Branco Institute of Brazil and the Center for Latin American Studies at UC Berkeley have established the Rio Branco Visiting Chair program at Berkeley. The program was also established at Columbia University and the University of Chicago. Through the program, a candidate is selected from among nominations made by the Rio Branco Institute in consultation with the Center for Latin American Studies. The professor teaches one seminar or lecture course on themes related to the Brazilian economy and its integration in the international economy. The program was begun in January 1998 and will continue through 2004.

Jorge Wilheim
Jorge Wilheim is Deputy Secretary-General of HABITAT II. A well-known Brazilian architect and town planner, he has been, at different times, the country's Secretary of State for Planning and for the Environment and São Paulo's President of the Planning Department. He is presently a member of the University of S.Paulo Institute of Advanced Studies.

He will teach a course on contemporary Brazil.