APLU Leaders Visit Mexico to Strengthen North American Higher Education Engagement

Seeking to deepen North American higher education engagement around collaborative research, economic engagement, and student and faculty mobility, APLU President Mark Becker recently led a delegation to Mexico alongside The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) President Taylor Eighmy, who is chair of APLU’s Commission on International Initiatives (CII).

APLU President Becker and UTSA President Eighmy were joined by:

• Bernie Burrola, APLU Vice President, International, Community & Economic Engagement
• Lisa Montoya, UTSA Vice Provost for Global Initiatives and CII Executive Committee Vice-Chair
• Guillermo Hernandez, Mexican higher education expert and former Director of the National Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education (ANUIES)

Last year, APLU leadership visited Mexico and Canada on three separate occasions to engage with key public, private, and higher education leaders. In coordination with member institutions in Mexico and Canada, the meetings provided potential areas for collaboration around joint research and greater economic development between all three countries.

APLU and CII leadership returned to Mexico last month to meet with new members of the Mexican government and reinforce APLU’s strong interest in greater collaboration across North America. During the visit, APLU held meetings with its counterpart association, ANUIES, in Mexico City as well as meetings with the governor of the State of Yucatan to learn how universities might collaborate around regional development in that state.

APLU also met with representatives from the office of the Department of Public Education and the newly created Secretary of Science, Humanities, Technology, and Innovation. The meeting sparked interest in Mexican universities exploring participation in APLU’s Innovation and Economic Prosperity (IEP) program. The IEP program helps universities enhance their economic and community impact and aligns with the current Mexican administration’s interest in fostering government and industry collaborations for regional economic development.

In addition to the meetings, APLU is excited to work with two new recent government appointees who will be responsible for higher education within the Department of Public Education. Ricardo Lomeli, Rector of the University of Guadalajara, was just named the Undersecretary for Higher Education within the Department of Public Education. Additionally, Carlos Ivan Moreno, also from the University of Guadalajara, was appointed as Director General for Higher Education, placing both as the two most senior government Mexican officials responsible for higher education. APLU congratulates both leaders on their appointments and looks forward to working with them.