AUSTIN, Texas — Inspired by – the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA), community colleges throughout the Southwest are
developing curricula catering to a growing number of students seeking
careers linked to hemispheric trade.
School officials in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas say
the increasing integration of the North American economies have
provided a new sense of urgency to efforts to expand ties with Mexico.
The rush for cross-border collaboration — exchange programs,
sabbaticals, cultural tours and enhanced foreign language programs has
a distinct, trade-oriented spin.
Dr. David Pierce, president of the American Association of
Community Colleges, says schools believe that the term “community” —
mentioned in most schools’ mission statements — no longer should be
defined in a narrow, geographic context.
“Not only are local communities composed of growing numbers of
immigrants,” he writes in a recent report on burgeoning international
programs, “but also the economies of these communities are increasingly
dependent on effective relationships with other countries.”
San Diego Community College District Chancellor Augie Gallego
recently returned from meetings in Mexico with university officials
interested in expanding exchange programs.
“We cannot simply mouth the words globalization and
internationalization of education,” Gallego says “We need to see it,
touch it, and do whatever we can to promote it.”
