LASPAU: Academic and Professional Programs for the Americas

	UAT Workshop Marks the Launch of New Leadership Program: In September 2007, Secretary General of the Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas (UAT) Olga Hernández Limón and Executive Director of LASPAU Ned Strong signed an agreement for a specialized leadership program and seminar for UAT faculty . The signing took place at the Leadership Workshop for Tamaulipas, a seminar designed for UAT by LASPAU through the Instituto Internacional para el Desarrollo de la Innovación Académica (IDIA). In December 2007, 30 UAT academic and administrative leaders, including UAT President José Ma. Leal Gutiérrez, will convene in Cambridge for a seminar on leadership in education.

	Fulbright Alumnus Invited to Serve as Visiting Professor at Harvard University: Fulbright alumnus Rafael Fernández de Castro has been invited to serve as a Robert F. Kennedy Visiting Professor in Latin American Studies at Harvard University. The Professorship, administered by the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, enables Harvard faculty to nominate distinguished Latin American academics from any field to teach at the University for a semester or a full year. While at Harvard, Fernández will teach a Department of Government course for undergraduate and graduate students titled “U.S.-Mexican Relations.” He has published many books and articles on Mexican foreign policy and the bilateral relationship between Mexico and the United States, including a book entitled United States and Mexico: Between Partnership and Conflict, co-authored with Harvard’s Vice Provost for International Affairs Jorge Domínguez.

	Fulbright Alumna Elected as First Female President of UTP: Marcela Paredes was chosen as the first female president of the Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá (UTP) by a majority of UTP faculty, staff, and students. Paredes will replace current president and USAID alumnus Salvador Rodríguez on February 3, 2008, the end of his five-year term. Paredes currently serves as the academic vice president of UTP’s center for higher education. Prior to that, she served as dean of the UTP electrical engineering department from 2001 to 2003 and worked with Rodriguez to facilitate a dialogue on the Social Security Fund in 2005. Paredes received a master’s degree in engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1997 through the Fulbright Faculty Development Program.

	President of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernández Reyna Meets with LASPAU Staff and Grantees: Following a luncheon on September 24, 2007, hosted by the Harvard Foundation to honor President Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Republic, a group of LASPAU-administered grantees studying at Harvard University and other universities in the Boston area had the opportunity to meet and speak with the President. Fernández was at Harvard to receive the Harvard Foundation Medal for his creation of the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), a Dominican non-profit organization dedicated to producing public policies to strengthen democracy and governability and promoting sustainable development and the modernization of the Dominican Republic.

	ITTalent Named as Finalist for Citizenship Partner of the Year by the 2007 Microsoft Partner Awards Program: Fulbright-ICETEX alumnus Felipe Botero Thiriez (M.S, mechanical engineering, 1990, University of Minnesota) is the General Manager of ITTalent, a leader in information technology training in Colombia. ITTalent has been named one of three finalists in the category of Citizenship Partner of the Year by the 2007 Microsoft Partner Awards Program. The category recognizes exceptional partners who have had a sustained commitment to their society and community and can demonstrate the impact of their work.Says Botero, “We are very proud to have been selected by Microsoft as one of three finalists on an international level for such an important award. More than a recognition, this is the result of arduous and steadfast work in pursuit of our vision: to be recognized as the best option for education in new technologies, as a generating agent of productivity, competitiveness and economic and social development for individuals and organizations in Colombia.” Click on the following link to see a video describing ITTalent's work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCVWi08JFzo

	Alberto Mendoza Presents New Research at Binational Environmental Conference: Adolfo Bustamante (right), health, safety, and environment manager for La Rosita Power Station, congratulates Alberto Mendoza (left), director of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Tecnológico de Monterrey, following Mendoza's presentation at the May 2007 Binational Environmental Cooperation Conference in Mexicali, an event co-sponsored by LASPAU, the Southwestern Consortium for Environmental Research and Policy (SCERP), and CETYS. Mendoza’s study, "Mexicali-Imperial Valley Air Quality Modeling and Monitoring Program," examined the dynamics of air pollutants in the Mexicali-Imperial Valley region and has been of paramount importance in helping to reduce air pollution in the area. Alberto Mendoza is a grantee of the Border Ozone Reduction and Air Quality Improvement Program, an InterGen sponsored initiative.