HSU President Rollin Richmond and UABJO President Rafael Torres Valdez agreed to a five-year extension of their 2003 bilateral partnership during a two-day visit here by a Oaxaca delegation. The pact can be extended for additional five-year periods.
The renewed memorandum of understanding provides for student/faculty exchanges, joint development of academic courses and programs, development of joint scientific and technological research projects and collaboration in academic publications. Details will be spelled out in subsequent annexes to the MOU.
During the current visit, President Valdez and his delegation are meeting with Humboldt State faculty, Spanish-speaking students, the McKinleyville High School principal and staff and community members to review past projects and discuss future endeavors. Every other summer for the past six years, a cumulative total of 25 students from McKinleyville High School and Arcata High School have studied for three weeks at UABJO’s Facultad de Idiomas High School Prepa Número Five. More than 20 Oaxacan students and six faculty from Prepa Número Five have visited McKinleyille High and Arcata High in the past four consecutive years.
UABJO has been a host institution for many years of summer studies in Spanish language and culture and service learning for more than 120 HSU students from all majors and academic disciplines. Reciprocally, many Oaxaca students and faculty have studied at the Arcata campus, including 12 who matriculated the Summer Intensive English Language Institute. Three Spanish faculty from HSU’s Department of World Languages and Cultures have resided in Oaxaca in connection with the partnership and four UABJO faculty have been professors-in-residence at HSU teaching full semesters. There have been other exchanges as well in the fields of nursing and computer technical support.
The bi-national partnership was formally institutionalized in early 2003 and President Richmond and HSU faculty and administrators have made repeated visits since then to flesh out collaborative projects. Dr. Ken Ayoob, interim dean of HSU’s College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and former chair of the Department of Music, conducted a seminar on orchestra direction and a public orchestra concert at UABJO. HSU provided advice and guidance for a demonstration water purification plant on the UABJO campus in collaboration with Engineers without Borders. HSU also hosted two delegation visits to Oaxaca to assist with the development of an UABJO Cultural Center and UABJO Foundation.