New Mexico State University Provost Carol Parker (NMSU photo by Josh Bachman)New Mexico State University Provost Carol Parker has announced the creation of Beyond Borders, a community of practice that focuses on international, hemispheric and border regions in alignment with the NMSU LEADS 2025 Global Challenge.

“I look forward to working to reinvigorate and strengthen our initiatives to globalize our curriculum, research and outreach missions under the banner of NMSU LEADS 2025,” Parker said. “Innovation in this area will enhance NMSU’s reputation, visibility and reach, while potentially growing new resources to further strengthen the NMSU system.”

Last fall, Parker took steps to restructure NMSU’s International and Border Programs office, leaving oversight of the academic aspects of the office with Academic Affairs and realigning student support and co-curricular programs with Student Success to better serve international students and centralize recruitment, admissions, advising and co-curricular support for these students. Parker said she has since continued to consult with academic stakeholders regarding current and future leadership needs and support for international programs.

Beyond Borders will support faculty and staff interested in creating a self-supporting community around interdisciplinary internationalization of curriculum, research and creative works, and community engagement and extension. The Beyond Borders community will receive programming and logistical support from Parker’s office and Vice President for Research Luis Cifuentes. The community will be based at Nason House on the NMSU campus.

Parker will also launch a search for a faculty fellow to serve as the founding leader, convener and faculty administrator for Beyond Borders. The quarter-time faculty administrator will work closely with faculty and academic leaders from across NMSU and with members of the external community. A second, quarter-time faculty fellow will also be hired to serve as the leader, convener and faculty administrator for a newly reinvigorated Center for Latin American and Border Studies, which will focus on promoting excellence in scholarship, research and creative works on topics and issues concerning Latin America, the U.S.-Mexico border and general border studies.

“I encourage anyone working on matters related to international, hemispheric and border regions to join the Beyond Borders community of practice,” Parker said. “If this approach is successful, NMSU will develop additional supported communities of practice to focus on other LEADS 2025 Global Challenges.”

For more information about NMSU LEADS 2025, visit https://leads2025.nmsu.edu/