President’s Blog
Trip to Guanajuato
April 02, 2008
I am delighted to have joined the community of SOU faculty, staff, and students who journeyed to Guanajuato. I made the trip in mid-March with Meredith Reynolds, and together we met with many people from the university and the city of Guanajuato. Our trip overlapped slightly with a group from the Ashland Chamber of Commerce, so for a few days, the Ashland presence in Guanajuato was pervasive—we were everywhere!
As many people have said, the cities of Ashland and Guanajuato share many common aspects and values. Both cities have a true commitment to the arts. For instance, it was wonderful for us to arrive for the opening of the Feria del Libro y Festival Cultural Universitario. This is a huge university event that goes on for two weeks. Celebrating books and arts, the festival attracts thousands of visitors.
On the second day of our visit, we headed to Léon, where the university has built an impressive arts facility. It sits next to a state performing arts complex, as well as a state library and other complementary buildings. The new School of Culture and Art facilities are outstanding. The director gave us a memorable tour.
Back in Guanajuato, we toured an amazing library owned by the university. It houses rare, old volumes from all over the world. Books are restored and kept in perfect climatic and light conditions. We saw such beautiful books—volumes of Newton and other scientific authors, as well as works of philosophy and literature, some as early as the fifteenth century.
On the third day of our visit, we had breakfast with the university president, the provost, and an array of vice presidents. We had an excellent conversation, brainstorming on ways we can make stronger ties between our institutions. In 2009, we will celebrate the fortieth year of our collaboration, so we hope to launch some exciting initiatives. As I noted in my recent newsletter, the Universidad de Guanajuato has many partnerships with schools, including Penn State and William and Mary, and institutions in Europe and throughout Latin America. But ours is a very special collaboration.
March 15 began with a breakfast for the Ashland and Guanajuato Chambers of Commerce. Then we went on to the big event of the day, the annual meeting of the Ex–Alumnos del Programa Amistad de la Universidad de Guanajuato, the SOU-Guanajuato alumni. Former SOU presidents Joe Cox and Steve Reno received awards, as did Meredith. Also honored was Sebastian Sanzberro, SOU friend and former interim dean of our School of Business. It was wonderful to meet so many people whose lives have been transformed by the relationship between our universities.
As soon as I returned to Ashland, I began putting together notes from our meetings. This spring I will work with folks on campus to see how we might strengthen and renew the partnership we have had for so many years with the Universidad de Guanajuato.
It’s a very special relationship—one we should treasure.
Mary Cullinan
