Queretaro, Arkansas State Leaders Break Ground On Campus In Mexico

Arkansas State University has officially headed south of the border.

On Thursday (Feb. 20), the Jonesboro-based higher education institution and Mexican leaders broke ground on a 2,000 acre development near Queretaro. The ASU campus will be the focal point of a land development project, which will include commercial, residential and recreational components.

“This is a historic day for Arkansas State,” said ASU Chancellor Tim Hudson. “This will be a benefit to our students and faculty who participate in this project. It will create leaders who have an empathetic understanding of different cultures, who are comfortable working in a global environment. The idea of a residential campus where people from different walks of life meet each other, interact and learn from each other outside the classroom – this is unique in Mexico and around the world. To be competitive in a global economy, you need highly-trained and highly-educated individuals.”

Featured speakers and attendees at the groundbreaking included Queretaro Gov. Jose Calzada Rovirosa; U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Earl Anthony Wayne; Association for the Advancement of Mexican Education (AIEM) President Oscar Franco; Edmundo Ortiz, the General Director of AIEM who leads the campus development project on behalf of all Mexican partners; and Jose Salgado, head of the Ministry of Urban Development and Public Works of Queretaro.

“This is something that has been never seen in our country, a campus of a prestigious American university, here,” Calzada said. “Today begins the story of Arkansas, which will be a great success. It is the first campus of a public university in Mexico, in history, and that is a very important thing. It is not a matter of appearance; it is a matter of substance for this university to come to Queretaro.”

In addition to Hudson, Arkansas State’s delegation to the event included Dan Pierce and Ron Rhodes, who are members of the ASU Board of Trustees; Dr. Yvonne Unnold, chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures, who is the project coordinator for the new campus; Julie Isaacson, chair of the Faculty Senate; George Krennerich, president of the Chancellor’s Cabinet and president of Brackett-Krennerich and Associates of Jonesboro; Dr. Lynita Cooksey, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs and research; Dr. Rick Stripling, vice chancellor for student affairs; the university mascot “Howl”; student representative Stephanie Overby; Dr. Abelardo Martinez, a Jonesboro cardiologist; and Mark Young, president of the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The Mexico campus, which will open for classes in fall 2015, incorporates the ASU brand and logo and the university’s curriculum. Courses will be taught in English by credentialed faculty approved by Arkansas State. The first phase of academic space on the 200 acres allocated for the campus is being designed to accommodate up to 5,000 students, with a goal of 1,000 students in the first year, Hudson said.