President Robbins Leads UA Envoy to Mexico City
On Friday, President Robbins addressed the Arizona-Mexico Commission annual Summit. Along with NAU President Rita Chang, President Robbins spoke to the Summit about the global impact of Arizona universities.
He highlighted the UA’s initiatives on border health and efforts to prepare graduates for a global economy. President Robbins also held private meetings with Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and Sonora Governor Claudia Pavlovic to discuss continued collaboration between our two states.
In other news, State Relations participated in a UA delegation led by President Robbins to Mexico City to discuss UA’s current partnerships and future opportunities with the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). UNAM is one of the top universities in Latin America. The main campus is located in Mexico City and has over 300,000 students across the county. Currently, UA and UNAM have a physical presence on each other’s main campuses and a binational research consortium on arid lands. The consortium is funded by Mexico's National Council for Science and Technology, the country's equivalent of the U.S. National Science Foundation.
President Robbins addressed Mexican officials and representatives from the U.S embassy and emphasized his commitment to continue UA’s proud history of engagement in Mexico and highlighted previous collaborations in the areas of agriculture, astronomy, mining, and environmental science.
Leaders from UA, UNAM and Mexico City discussed opportunities to draw upon each other’s expertise to find 21st-century solutions to the world’s most pressing problems, especially in the areas of food production and energy and water security.
Members of the delegation discussed ideas to increase exchange programs for UA and UNAM graduate students. For example, the colleges of law at both institutions are exploring the opportunity to expose students to law courses in both nations. UA’s law school has a history of successful exchange programs with Mexico. It is currently partnering with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide training for Mexican diplomats in the foundations of American law to enhance consular services and strengthen binational relations. Seventy-five members of the Mexican diplomatic corps have participated in the program.