Provost Brian Foster is seeking input on how UNM can strengthen its international studies programs, building on its Latin American and Iberian focus to gain a global presence.
Foster released a memorandum last week to faculty and staff seeking ideas on how to improve the program. He says he is looking for a creative response that keeps in mind the University's strengths and financial limitations.
The provost's background is in international studies, and he said that with the leadership positions of campus international programs vacant, it is a good time to re-evaluate the program.
"More than anything else, it had to do with looking at the strategic plan and realizing that one of our strengths is that we are so close to an international border and have such a strong Latin American and Iberian program," he said. "We said that those strengths are things we want to build on and this is really looking at how we can expand and enhance our profile."
When most schools look to expand their international programs, Foster said they generally work on expanding area studies that focus on parts of the world such as China and the Middle East. He said that UNM does not have the funding resources to implement more area studies programs because it would require several librarians, expanding collections and attracting faculty whose expertise is in that field.
"Basically, it's just not an option for us to do that type of change, and even if we did it in one area, such as China, that leaves huge gaps as far as the rest of the world is concerned," he said.
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Foster's answer is to ask the community to consider how the University might be able to establish courses that draw on its current strengths in international studies and apply them on a global scale.
"We would take some generic underlying issues that we have some expertise in because they are prevalent in the Southwest or Latin America and basically become the most prominent place in the world to study those issues," he said.
Some sample topics Foster offered include water issues, desert climates, human rights of indigenous people and ethnic diversity.
"If we just take ethnic relations for example, we could draw on the knowledge we have and recruit people interested in the same subject from different parts of the world," Foster said. "From there, we could attract more students, have conferences, recruit visiting faculty and enhance research we already conduct on the subject."
Foster emphasized that suggestions for discussion mark a change in the way UNM approaches international studies, and that he does not want to move away from its stronghold in Latin America, Iberia or the Southwest.
"What I want, if anything, is to just complement the programs we have," he said. "This is not to supplant Latin America. Above all, it's just an opportunity to improve the University's profile. If we don't do it, it means that we'll have missed an opportunity to do something of global interest and really special."
Foster has not set a deadline for public comment.
"We're just looking for ideas and trying to facilitate a creative process," he said. "There's no real deadline to this because it really wouldn't help discussion. It's more important this is an open process."
