Partnerships will lead to exchanges with students, faculty

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A visit by members of the WNMU administration to Universidad De Occidente (UDEO) in the city of Culiacan, Mexico, during the first week of March culminated with the signing of a memorandum of understanding by both university presidents, opening the door to opportunities of faculty and student exchanges.

"With the very positive experience we had this past summer, hosting more than 150 Mexican students, we know that WNMU is a great fit for faculty and students from Mexican universities," said Dr. Magdaleno Manzanarez, WNMU Vice President for External Affairs.

Dr. Manzanarez traveled with President Joseph Shepard and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Jack Crocker during the visit to Culiacan. UDEO administrators expressed their interest in having WNMU professors teach English courses, on site, during the summer session. President Shepard explained his support for the success of WNMU's Language Institute, and the four-week English intensive language courses taught at the main campus.

"We are already building up the summer Language Institute program so that we can welcome another large group of Mexican students," explained Manzanarez. "It is our hope that UDEO will benefit from our programs in the near future.

An agreement was also signed with the Universidad Autonoma de Sinaloa (UAS), the university system for which many of this past summer's Mexican students are enrolled. The agreement cited performing joint research projects and enabling academic and administrative exchanges.

Last June, WNMU signed a similar agreement with Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez (UACJ).

Western New Mexico University has served the people of the state of New Mexico and its surrounding areas as a comprehensive, regional, rural, public coeducational university since 1893 and serves a student body diverse in age, culture, language and ethnic background.