April 23, 2001

To: Allan Sweedler
Associate Vice President
Office of International Programs

From: Pat Huckle, Women's Studies
Norma Ojeda, Chicana/o Studies, Sociology
Miguel Ponce, Engineering

Re: Grant Report - Universidad Autonoma de Benito Juarez
de Oaxaca (UABJO), March 2001
 

During the week of March 12-16, Professors Norma Ojeda, Pat Huckle and Miguel Ponce visited UABJO for the purpose of discussing possible collaborations and exchanges with faculty and students. Our hosts for this meeting were Ma. Socorro Bennetts Fernandez, Directora de Intercambio Academico and Dr. Maximo Lopez Nazario, Director de Apoyo a La Docencia. Through their kindness, we were able to meet with a number of faculty to discuss possible exchanges/collaborations in several areas. What follows is an outline of our activities.

1. General Agreement. We gave to UABJO a model for a formal exchange agreement between the two universities. They are definitely interested, but want to hear from us more specifics about proposed activities. We are continuing contact with them by phone and email, and have sent a letter confirming the interest of SDSU in such an agreement.

2. Mixtec language. At the request of Prof. Tom Davies, we inquired about the
possibility that our students might visit Oaxaca to extend their language studies in Mixtec at UABJO. Professor Mario Ortiz Gabriel, Investigador del Instituto de Investigaciones Sociologicas de la UABJO, teaches Mixtec, and assured us it would be simple to arrange for classes for students. We have referred this matter to Latin American Studies, and Hugo Murillo has said he will follow up to make this happen.

3. Immigration Studies. Several faculty members met with us to discuss their interest in studies of migration to the U.S. Prof. Ojeda has outlined some proposed objectives for further exploration:
 

Research Project " Family and Women's Reproductive Health Among Migrant Workers from Oaxaca in San Diego."

This would be a joint research project between Norma Ojeda from the Departments of Sociology and Chicana/Chicano Studies, SDSU and Mario Ortiz, and Ana Alvarado from the Sociological Research Institute, UABJO. Graduate students from each institution may also participate in the research and exchanges, as funding permits.

Probable duration: Proposal writing: summer, 2002
Research: fall, 2002 - fall, 2004.

Probable sources of funding: International Programs, SDSU (2002 - 2003).
Autonomous University Benito Juárez of Oaxaca.
Other international sources to be explored.

Intermediate exchanges:

… Visit of Professor Ojeda to UABJO during the summer, 2002.
(Lecture: "Contemporary U.S.-Mexico International Border Issues"
Department of Sociology).

… Visit of Professor Ortiz to San Diego State in the spring, 2003.
(Probable lecture: "Migration from Oaxaca to the Two - Californias"
Department of Chicana/Chicano Studies).

… Visit of Professor Ojeda to UABJO during the summer, 2003.
(Lecture: "Contemporary U.S.-Mexico International Border Issues"
Department of Sociology.

… Visit of Professor Ortiz to SDSU during the spring, 2004.
(Probable lecture: "Migration from Oaxaca to the Two - Californias"
Department of Chicana/Chicano Studies).
 

4. Gender Studies. Professor Huckle met with Hia Marquez Coronado, doctoral candidate in Education, and M.E. Leticia Perez Martinez, UABJO Women's Center. Profs. Huckle and Ojeda also met with Lic. Gabriela Gutierrez de Kleman, then Coordinadora Administrativa de la Casa de la Mujer Rosario Castellanos, who will now be the Assoc. Director of the new federal government office focused on gender issues (one of only six such offices in Mexico). We were also given the names of two PhD students at UABJO who have interest in gender issues: Sara Mendez and Gloria Safra.

Apparently, at just this time, there is renewed interest in the status of women and gender issues in Mexico, and at UABJO. Prof. Huckle, Hia Marquez Coronado and Letitia Perez Martinez discussed at length several possible inquiries. These include:

… A joint investigation of the structure of opportunities for women in higher education in Oaxaca. This research would follow from Hia's doctoral studies, and would look specifically at patterns of employment at UABJO.

… Initiation of courses/programs in women's studies for UABJO, on which Pat will serve as consultant, working with Hia and Letitia. Gabriela Gutierrez de Kleman also indicated interest in the provision of new courses and development of programs, and indicated possible support from the new government office. Profs. Ojeda and Huckle also visited with Dr. Margarita Dalton Palomo, long-time activist and scholar, and editor of La Mujer Oaxaquena: un analisis de su contexto (Consejo Estatal de Poblacion de Estado de Oaxaca) and researcher at CIESAS -Oaxaca. Prof. Huckle will return to Oaxaca for three weeks in October/November, to further explore these connections. While UABJO does not yet have the technical equipment for video streaming, they expect to within the next six months. They are interested in exploring the possibility of distance learning courses like SDSU's WS530 International Women's Movements, currently being offered with students from SDSU, Orebro University in Sweden, and students from Belarus and Russia.

… Faculty exchanges. Prof. Huckle will explore the possibility of a Fulbright grant which would support her presence at UABJO in Fall of 2002 (depending on an invitation from UABJO) both to offer classes and to assist with program development. It may also be possible to seek funding support in Mexico, so that graduate students/professors from UABJO could visit the Women's Studies Department at SDSU.

5. Engineering/Environmental Programs.

Prof. Ponce will be giving a lecture at the UABJO on May 25, 2001,
and continue developing our contacts with the Faculty of Architecture.
 

6. International Business. Although we were told that there was interest in an exchange program in IB, no business faculty member was available to meet with us. Sra. Socorro assured us that she would forward materials, and she was asked to contact Teresa Donahue directly.

7. Anthropology. We took materials from the Anthropology Department at SDSU, but no UABJO faculty were able to attend our meetings.

8. Other areas. Following the visit to Oaxaca, sensing enthusiasm from UABJO faculty for connections with SDSU, we encouraged Prof. Alberta Ochoa (doctoral program in Education) and Christina Rivera-Garza (History) to apply for an International Program grant to explore other possible exchanges.

9. Overall, we felt warmly received and eager to continue our contacts with UABJO faculty. We are acutely aware that even though SDSU can offer students from UABJO release from SDSU tuition, many students (and faculty) will find it very difficult to afford a semester here. For UABJO faculty, it might be possible to find Mexican funds so that they can come to SDSU for short periods of time. Funding of international students and faculty remains a difficult issue.

We will ask UABJO to respond with a summary of their own projects/interests as well as approval of the general university exchange agreement.

Cc: Paul Strand, Dean
College of Arts & Letters

Pieter A. Frick, Dean
College of Engineering

Susan Cayleff, Chair, Women's Studies Department
Ricardo Griswold Del Castillo, Chair
Chicano/a Studies Department
Robert Emerick, Chair, Sociology Department

Socorro Bennetts Fernandez, UABJO
Dr. Maximo Lopez Nazario, UABJO

Patricia Huckle, San Diego State Univ., Women's Studies Dept.,San Diego CA 92182
web site: http://rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/huckle/index.html