Hoping to train U.S. and Mexican professionals to succeed on both sides of the border, San Diego State University has joined forces with a Baja California public university to create a joint graduate degree in public administration.SDSU President Stephen Weber and Alejandro Mungaray, rector of the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California (UABC), yesterday signed an agreement linking their institutions in the new program, believed to be the first of its kind along the U.S.-Mexico border.
A lawyer, a civil engineer, an economist, a forest ranger and a city councilman are among the 19 students from California and Baja California who have enrolled. Their classes will be conducted in both English and Spanish and take place in San Diego, Mexicali, Calexico, Ensenada and Tecate.
"This will help our communities to address common problems with a regional perspective," said Weber, speaking at an inaugural ceremony at SDSU.
The students will compare their countries' systems of public finance and administration. They will study topics such as criminal justice, the environment and immigration that affect both sides of the border.
After six courses, they will qualify for a graduate certificate in transborder public administration and governance. Those interested in earning a graduate degree will be allowed to apply the credits toward a master's program scheduled to begin in the fall.
As the first class began yesterday, Glenn Sparrow, a public administration professor at SDSU, asked the students a basic question: How do you define the word border?
"A place where you need permission to get to the other side," said Antonio Zúñiga, who works for a maquiladora factory in Tijuana, drawing chuckles from his classmates.
The students bring a vast range of experience in topics as varied as housing, infrastructure, legal issues, business and public administration. Several discussed their concerns for the region, from education to water supply to migration.
Emanuel Mendoza, an industrial engineer and member of the Mexicali City Council, said he wants to see Baja California decrease its dependence on maquiladoras.
Maria Candelaria Pelayo Torres, a law professor at the UABC in Mexicali, said she wants to craft cross-border contracts so institutions on both sides can collaborate on common problems.
Graciela Terrazas, a district ranger with the Cleveland National Forest, said she's in the program "for the networking and the understanding of both sides of the border."
SDSU and the UABC have been collaborating on a number of projects since the 1980s through faculty exchanges, joint research projects, and the MEXUS program, which offers joint undergraduate degrees in business and women's studies.
Offering a joint graduate-level degree "shows that we feel our partner is a true, full partner," said Paul Ganster, director of SDSU's Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias. "We're combining our resources in an appropriate way across the border to meet a regional need."
