Idaho State University building relationships with Mexican universities

Idaho State University could be getting a taste of Mexico soon.

By Steven Friederich – Pocatello Idaho Journal Writer

The university is building relationships with schools and higher education facilities after its business dean returned from a week-long trip to Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City last month.

Dean Bill Stratton was invited to join Gov. Dirk Kempthorne and dozens of other corporate and university representatives on a trade mission to Mexico late last month.

Kempthorne’s goal was primarily to build agricultural relationships with Mexican governors and municipal representatives, but universities like ISU set out to bond with Mexican higher education institutions.

Stratton said he visited a high school with a large amount of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints students in Mexico City.

"I found out that many of their students go to Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City or its Idaho branch," Stratton said. "They didn’t know ISU could provide a supportive environment for their needs until I alerted them to the possibility."

Stratton said he also visited with local universities and technical schools in Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City.

"I met a faculty member who wants to come up here for an MBA and we’ll foster that as much as we can," he said. "We’re now talking with different schools about exchange opportunities."

He said building relationships with Mexican schools helps the College of Business masters program because there are many students who study Spanish or know the language.

"In Mexico, business is a personal thing," he said. "You have to build relationships with people, and I think we’ve done that."

The Mexican trip also helped the locally-based Idaho Farm Bureau and other wheat interests secure orders for wheat totaling more than $650,000.

Potato interests received verbal commitments for three containers of dehydrated potato flakes worth about $64,000. And the Rigby-based Potato Products of Idaho determined that the market is open to U.S. potatoes and were able to meet with key food service and retail distributors interested in their products.

Steven Friederich is a county, state and federal political reporter for the Journal. He can be reached at (208) 239-6001 or by e-mail at [email protected].

http://www.journalnet.com/articles/2003/11/12/news/local/news09.txt