COSTA MESA : Chancellor to Chair U.S.-Mexico Panel

The chancellor of the Coast Community College District has been chosen to head a panel of educators from the United States and Mexico whose goal is to strengthen educational and economic development ties between the two countries.

Chancellor Alfred P. Fernandez will chair the International Consortium for Educational and Economic Development, an alliance of 15 U.S. community colleges and the Colegio Nacional de Education Profesional Tecnica, an association of 250 technical colleges throughout Mexico.

“The consortium will serve as the education and training arm to assist businesses on both sides of the border in developing the work force needed to support free trade between the United States and Mexico,” Fernandez said. The project is aimed in part at creating more jobs in the communities of participating colleges in the southwestern United States, he added.

The consortium grew out of a conference held last October by U.S. Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander and Manuel Bartlett-Diaz, Mexico’s former secretary of education. Conferees stressed the need for present and future educational programs between the United States and Mexico and other Latin American countries in anticipation of passage of the Bush Administration’s proposed free trade agreement with Mexico.

As part of its focus, the consortium will emphasize faculty and student exchanges, teacher training, literacy and dropout prevention, as well as technical training programs.

The Coast Community College District includes Coastline College in Fountain Valley, Golden West College in Huntington Beach and Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. Other participating institutions include the Los Angeles Community College District, Texas State Technical College, San Diego City College District, El Paso Community College and Cochise College in Arizona.