ROBERT A. EVANGELISTA

INTERNATIONALIZATION

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The purposes of internationalizing curriculum and programs at Southwestern College (SWC) were to better prepare interested students for careers in international commerce, government, and law, as well as in science, technology, and environmental protection with an emphasis on global issues. With the Mexican border only three miles from SWC, the border region was economically dominated by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with over 700 maquiladoras or factories operating in Tijuana alone. I helped integrate the Environmental Technology (ET) program with Vecinos-The Baja Studies Certificate Program and the Mexican-American Joint Environmental Program.

 

Vecinos, The Baja Studies Certificate Program

The Baja Studies Certificate Program, titled Vecinos, offered students courses that emphasized topics and issues related to Baja California, Mexico. These new courses covered social studies, art, science and technology, and language; however, the environmental and ecology-based EcoMundo courses comprised half of the program’s initial offerings. I developed EcoMundo: Environmental Technology and Issues. Ironically, this course was first taught in Cusco, Peru, with field trips to the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu.

 

Joint Mexican-American Environmental Program

I saught to initiate a joint Mexican-American study program with the goals of “establishing partnership with other educational institutions to meet needs for future educational programs and services and contributing to the economic development of the (border) region,” March 23, 1998 memo. The objective was to teach environmental technology courses at a college or university in Baja California, Mexico, with students coregistered at SWC and at a Mexican partner.