Mixtec language and culture is feature of exchange agreement

Signing the Agreement: President Dennis L. Hefner, right, and Rector Francisco Martinez Neri, left.

The presidents of the State University of New York at Fredonia and Universidad Autonoma "Benito Juarez" de Oaxaca (UABJO) have signed a cooperative agreement, formalizing the blossoming relationship between the two institutions.

The agreement will result in exchange programs, travel-study courses, and the sharing of curricula that includes working with the indigenous Indian language known as Mixtec, spoken by many immigrants in the U.S., and one-third of the indigenous population in Mexico.  

 SUNY Fredonia President Dennis Hefner and UABJO Rector Francisco Martinez Neri inked the memorandum of understanding on Monday afternoon, capping a three-day visit to Western New York by a trio of the Mexican university’s top officials.  The three-year agreement calls for curriculum development, cooperative international education programs and exchange opportunities for students and faculty from SUNY Fredonia and UABJO. 

SUNY Fredonia Vice President of Academic Affairs Virginia Horvath, SUNY Fredonia Director of International Education and Internships Mary Sasso, UABJO Academic Secretary Fausto Diaz Montes and UABJO Director of Academic Interchange Suhail Suarez Alonso joined the two chief administrators for the signing. “As the globe continues to shrink, our faculty and students must be afforded greater opportunities for international experiences,” said President Hefner. “This agreement facilitates the development of long and short-term exchanges, the identification of new destinations for time-shortened travel-study courses, and the sharing of curriculum.  Students and faculty will gain a greater understanding of the similarities and differences between the cultures and economies of our two countries, as they interact with their UABJO counterparts.”

The partnership was conceived in 2004 when a SUNY Fredonia Title VI workshop showed that a sizable percentage of recent immigrants to Chautauqua County, where Fredonia is located, had roots in Oaxaca, a state located in southwestern Mexico.  Further study revealed that new arrivals spoke the Mixtec language indigenous to Oaxaca and valued Mixteca culture over the more familiar Mexican.  “Mixtec students speak an indigenous Indian language,” said Ms. Sasso.  “Their language is not Spanish. This can present a challenge for administrators and teachers who work primarily with second language learners from Spanish-speaking countries." 

SUNY Fredonia was determined to develop a plan that addressed this need.  With the assistance of the SUNY Office of International Exchange Programs, school representatives traveled to Oaxaca in March 2005 and established contact with UABJO faculty and administrators.   

“UABJO has a wonderful teacher education program,” Ms. Sasso said.  “It is very similar to our own College of Education.  For example, they have a Teaching Spanish as a Second Language (TSSOL) program – we have Teaching English as a Second Language program.  We plan to explore the possibility of an exchange program, where our future teachers can go to UABJO, their future teachers can come here and they can share strategies for teaching a second language."

In November, UABJO Professor Franco Gabriel Hernandez visited SUNY Fredonia to discuss teaching methodologies with members of the College of Education.  Dr. Hernandez, a native of Oaxaca fluent in Mixtec, also visited the Dunkirk City Schools to talk with the ESL teachers and meet with the Mixtec students.  The students were very surprised to hear him speaking their language. 

Over winter break, SUNY Fredonia Assistant Professor of Political Science Ivani Vassolar and a contingent of SUNY Fredonia students studied the social and political structure that exist in both the city and state of Oaxaca.  They were greeted warmly by the faculty at UABJO and by Robert Balkin, Director of the SUNY Mexico office.

By entering into the formal, multiyear agreement, SUNY Fredonia teaching candidates and certified educators throughout Western New York will have the opportunity to increase their ability to teach, communicate and relate with the growing number of Oaxacan students in local districts.

“Making the transition a little easier for Mixtec children in the public schools – that’s what we really want to see happen here,” Ms. Sasso said.  “And that community connection is what makes this agreement unique and very special.   Many universities form relationships for the purpose of faculty exchange, student exchange and study abroad programs, but only a few contain a community component like this.  We are excited about the future of this program and our new relationship with UABJO.”