CIC hosted a delegation of Mexican private university rectors at the 2015 Presidents Institute in San Diego, California. The conversations that took place during that first meeting of CIC presidents and Mexican university rectors have resulted in strong and meaningful relationships between private colleges and universities in the United States and Mexico. With the support of CIC’s two sister organizations in Mexico—the Mexican Federation of Private Higher Education Institutions (FIMPES) and Mexican Association of Universities and Higher Education Institutions (ANUIES)—and Santander Universidades and Universia, delegations of Mexican rectors also have participated in the 2016, 2017, and 2018 Presidents Institutes. These connections spurred CIC and FIMPES to begin thinking of a strategy for increasing faculty and student exchanges between the United States and Mexico as well as deepening the relationships that had been cultivated at the CIC Presidents Institutes. The first U.S.-Mexico Higher Education Summit organized by CIC and FIMPES was held March 29–31, 2017, in Guadalajara, Mexico. A second U.S.-Mexico Higher Education Summit was held April 24–27, 2019, in Chicago, Illinois.

Participants in the 2019 U.S.-Mexico Higher Education Summit during their campus visit to Dominican University (IL) on April 25.

​View Resources

​CIC—with FIMPES, Santander Universidades and Universia, and several CIC institutions in the Chicago area—hosted a second Summit, which took place in Chicago, Illinois, April 24–27, 2019. A delegation of 75 presidents/rectors and senior campus colleagues participated in the Summit, which included half-day visits to five institutions in the Chicago area, as well as discussions about possibilities for student and faculty exchanges, consortia and partnership opportunities, joint summer programs, and innovation in internationalization.

Hosts

Sponsors

Members of the U.S. and Mexican delegations gathered on March 30 at the Universidad del Valle de Atemajac (UNIVA).

​View Resources

Twenty-three institutions from 14 U.S. states participated in the U.S.-Mexico Higher Education summit in Guadalajara, Mexico, in late March. The Summit, which was organized by the Council of Independent Colleges and FIMPES and generously supported by Santander Universidades and Universia, focused on “Reaffirming the North American Spirit of Collaboration: Creating Bridges of Communication” and emphasized the importance of international exchange, especially with higher education institutions in Mexico. The Summit also provided opportunities for deeper connections for U.S. college and university presidents and Me​xican university rectors following three years of participation by a delegation of Mexican rectors in the CIC Presidents Institute.

The 63 representatives—presidents, senior officers, higher education association leaders, and government officials—from both the U.S. and Mexico visited three Mexican higher education institutions—Instituto Technologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Technologico de Monterrey), Universidad Panamericana (UP), and Universidad del Valle de Atemajac (UNIVA)—met with the United States Consul General in Guadalajara, Tanya C. Anderson, and members of her staff who provided advice on sending groups of students and faculty members to Mexico, and participated in an array of local cultural activities. During the Summit, participants discussed student and faculty exchanges, 3-2 and summer programs, global leadership, consortia to facilitate international opportunities, and safety concerns on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

CIC member presidents Beverly Wade Hogan of Tougaloo College (MS), Billy C. Hawkins of Talladega College (AL), and Haywood L. Strickland of Wiley College (TX) talk with Tanya C. Anderson, U.S. Consul General in Guadalajara, at an evening reception.

U.S.-Mexico Higher Education Summit Participants

U.S. and Mexican higher education leaders and government officials welcome Summit participants.

​If you have any questions or comments please contact Kelsey Sherman Creech, CIC’s assistant to the president and liaison to the Board of Directors, at ksherman@cic.nche.edu or (202) 466-7230.