UW-Whitewater to sign exchange agreement with University of Guanajuato

October 27, 2008

On October 29, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and two scholars from the University of Guanajuato will sign an exchange agreement allowing students to teach and study at the Mexican university.

“The University of Guanajuato is one of the most successful public universities in Mexico that opens up a number of opportunities for our studies for study abroad,” said Seth Meisel, associate professor and chair of the history department at UW-Whitewater. “Some of the most promising areas are the arrangements we have organized for elementary education majors to do student teaching in Mexico and for students in the sciences to take courses in Spanish and engage in a wide variety of field experiences in Guanajuato.”

An exchange agreement between the two universities allows students from both schools to practice field experiences that are not available at their home schools or through other study abroad options. This not only opens up new and exciting options for students but also allows great potential for collaborative faculty research and teaching to enrich the efforts to internationalize the UW-Whitewater curriculum.

The visiting scholars will be met with a very full schedule upon arrival including presentations at the Janesville International Academy, a visit to ESL (English as a second language) classrooms in Madison, Janesville and Whitewater, multiple sit ins on UW-Whitewater classes as well as meeting with campus faculty.

Guanajuato is a member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO). Guanajuato takes pride in its heritage and has a distinguished language school.

The university anticipates the new exchange option with Guanajuato to officially begin in fall 2009, according to Harlan Smith, director of International Education. Students will be advised about participation beginning in the upcoming spring semester.

In addition to the signing of the new agreement with the University of Guanajuato, two scholars from the Universidad Autonoma Benito Juarez de Oaxaca (UABJO) will be on campus to meet with UW-Whitewater officials to further the already existing exchange program with that university.