The presidents of each institution within the CSU System: Colorado State University, CSU-Global Campus, and CSU-Pueblo, traveled to the CSU Todos Santos Center in October to visit with regional partners and experience the programs happening at the Center.
Tony Frank, Chancellor of the CSU System and President of CSU, visited the Center for the first time since its 2015 groundbreaking, alongside CSU-Pueblo President Tim Mottet, and Becky Takeda-Tinker, president of CSU-Global Campus.
The presidents were also joined by CSU System Executive Vice Chancellor Amy Parsons and Marcela de la Mar, Executive Director of the Mexican Cultural Center, a Colorado nonprofit organization that promotes Mexican culture, international programs, and collaboration in Colorado.
“It’s a natural fit for our campus to be a part of the Todos Santos teaching and resource center. What I like about it is that I think it will allow many of our students the opportunity to travel abroad in an accessible and an affordable manner, but also get a true international experience. For our Hispanic students, it will allow them to connect with their history in a way that will give them new appreciation for who they are,” said President Mottet. “It’s an honor to partner with Mexico.”
Such efforts are underway. Nearly 150 students visited the Center in FY17 from CSU-Fort Collins in a variety of disciplines, in addition to an ecotourism class from CSU-Pueblo, the first CSU-Pueblo group to study at the Center.
The presidents were in town during the Sustainable Agriculture class, which continued the work of the previous two Sustainable Agriculture groups that had visited the Center, completing a food dehydrator.
In an effort to understand the full scope of CSU’s work in the community, presidents Frank, Takeda-Tinker, and Mottet met with more than a dozen of the Center’s 60-plus partners, including regional organizations, educational institutions, community members, and non-profits, to honor the relationships and recognize the value and impact of the collaborations.
“Colorado State has strived to create global citizens by allowing our students to have a meaningful international experience in Baja California Sur, as well as to create bridges of cultural understanding by bringing educational and wellness opportunities to the people of Todos Santos, who have embraced our University’s efforts in creating this center,” President Frank reflected on the Center, in the 2016-2017 program report.
President Frank signed two Memorandums of Understanding to further CSU’s partnerships in Baja California Sur, including CICESE (Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada), a research and higher education institution, and the Sierra School of Todos Santos, an educational nonprofit secondary school for Mexican and international youth in Todos Santos.
About the CSU Todos Santos Center
The Colorado State University Todos Santos Center is the university’s first international location and is core to CSU’s mission of teaching, research, service and outreach.
The Center provides opportunities for CSU students and Baja California Sur residents to collaborate with local partners and businesses to identify needs, conduct research and produce impactful outcomes.
CSU’s vision in Todos Santos is to cultivate generations of global citizens and to be a part of creating thriving communities through collaboration, experience and exchange of knowledge in areas such as agriculture, infectious disease, elementary education, environmental and social sustainability, wildlife ecology, veterinary medicine and public health.
