CIC Member Presidents Visit Mexico for First Joint Summit

3/21/2017 — Washington, DC

The first Higher Education Summit of the United States and Mexico will take place March 29–31, 2017, in Guadalajara, Mexico, to explore partnership opportunities between Mexican and U.S. colleges and universities.

A U.S. delegation of 24 independent college and university presidents and five cabinet-level officers from U.S. institutions will meet with their Mexican counterparts. The meeting is organized by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and the Mexican Federation of Private Higher Education Institutions (FIMPES) and generously supported by Santander Universidades and Universia. The summit, “Reaffirming the North American Spirit of Collaboration in Higher Education: Creating Bridges of Communications” will emphasize the importance of international exchange in today’s “America First” political climate. As a result of the Summit, participants aim to provide enhanced exchange opportunities for students and faculty members in both countries; provide students with increased access to internships in Mexico and the United States; and allow faculty members and students to collaborate in shared research projects and development programs. The Summit follows three years during which delegations of Mexican private university rectors participated in CIC’s Presidents Institute, the largest annual gathering of college and university presidents in the U.S.

The U.S. presidents and their Mexican colleagues will visit and meet with campus leaders of three Mexican higher education institutions: Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Universidad Panamericana, and Universidad del Valle de Atemajac. Participants will also meet with the U.S. Consul General in Guadalajara, Tanya C. Anderson, and with local, state, and national Mexican officials, as well as additional university rectors. The U.S. delegation and Mexican university rectors will discuss student and faculty exchange programs, articulation agreements, global leadership, visa issues, and undocumented students.

CIC President Richard Ekman noted, “In the current climate of constrained international cooperation, CIC reaffirms the importance of international exchange for the preparation of informed citizens and responsible global participants. Our Mexican neighbors have a special relationship to colleges in the U.S.”

A press conference will be held Thursday, March 30, 2017, from 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. local time at the Sala de Rectores in Salón de Usos Múltiples (SUM) on the campus of Universidad del Valle de Atemajac (UNIVA), in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

Media representatives are also invited to attend the welcome ceremony, Thursday, March 30, 9:30 to 10:15 and the panel discussion from 10:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. local time in the same location. For further information, please contact:

In the U.S.: Lynn Donham
Vice President for Communications
Council of Independent Colleges
One Dupont Circle, Suite 320
Washington, DC 20036
202-466-7230
Email: ldonham@cic.nche.edu

In Mexico: Cristina Gonzalez Cota
Head of Corporate Image and Institutional Communication
Universidad del Valle de Atemajac (UNIVA)
Av. Tepeyac # 4800, Prados Tepeyac,
Guadalajara, Jalisco
+52 (33) 3134-0800, Ext. 1720
Email: cristina.cota@univa.mx

Summit Participants from the U.S.

Augustana College, IL
Steven C. Bahls, President

California Baptist University
Ronald Ellis, President

California Lutheran University
Chris Kimball, President

Campbell University, NC
J. Bradley Creed, President

Council of Independent Colleges, DC
Richard Ekman, President

Dominican University, IL
Donna M. Carroll, President

Drew University, NJ
MaryAnn Baenninger, President

Kalamazoo College, MI
Jorge G. Gonzalez, President

Loras College, IA
James E. Collins, President

Millsaps College, MS
Robert W. Pearigen, President

Moravian College, PA
Bryon Lee Grigsby, President

Mount St. Joseph University, OH
H. James Williams, President

Nebraska Methodist College
Dennis Joslin, President

Newbury College, MA
Joseph L. Chillo, President

Olivet College, MI
Steven M. Corey, President

Rockford University, IL
Eric W. Fulcomer, President

Schreiner University, TX
Charlie T. McCormick, President

St. Ambrose University, IA
Joan M Lescinski, CSJ, President

St. Edward’s University, TX
George E. Martin, President

Talladega College, AL
Billy C. Hawkins, President

Tougaloo College, MS
Beverly Wade Hogan, President

Virginia Wesleyan College
Scott D. Miller, President

Wartburg College, IA
Darrel D. Colson, President

Wiley College, TX
Haywood L. Strickland, President

Wilson College, PA
Barbara K. Mistick, President

The Council of Independent Colleges is an association of 765 nonprofit independent colleges and universities and higher education affiliates and organizations that has worked since 1956 to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of private higher education’s contributions to society. CIC is the major national organization that focuses on providing services to leaders of independent colleges and universities as well as conferences, seminars, and other programs that help institutions to improve educational quality, administrative and financial performance, and institutional visibility. CIC conducts the largest annual conferences of college and university presidents and of chief academic officers. CIC also provides support to state associations that organize programs and generate contributions for private colleges and universities. The Council is headquartered at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.

FIMPES is the largest network of private universities in Mexico. It was created in 1982 and hosts 108 prestigious universities that serve different socioeconomic sectors in all areas of Mexico. They enroll more than 650,000 students. FIMPES seeks to support institutional quality, in terms of the academic program that its members offer, and to encourage collaboration between affiliated universities and higher education institutions from other countries.