Carmen King Ramírez has spent the last few years creating the Transborder Student Project, an academic partnership between students and professors living near the border of the U.S. and Mexico, with the goal of fostering academic collaboration.
King Ramírez, who is an associate professor of Spanish at the University of Arizona, is using a Fulbright scholarship to bring her vision to fruition.
Founded in 1946, the Fulbright program is the U.S. government's flagship international educational exchange program and sends American scholars abroad to teach or conduct research for one year.
The UA’s support of faculty research has historically ranked it among the top producers of Fulbright scholars in the nation, but during the 2022-23 academic year the university achieved a new record. A total of 17 faculty and researchers at the UA received awards, making the school the top producer of Fulbright scholars in the nation, tied with Pennsylvania State University.
The scope of a Fulbright project can vary widely, but they should all focus on "building mutual understanding between nations, advancing knowledge across communities, and improving lives around the world," according to the organization's website.
King Ramírez is working to achieve that mission by engaging students who live on both sides of the border — who already have some connection to the other side — through collaborative coursework and opening their eyes to the two countries’ cultural and economic interdependence.
Carmen King Ramírez, an assistant professor of Spanish at the University of Arizona, was one of 17 recipients of the Fulbright scholarship from the UA this year. The UA was the top producer of Fulbright scholars in the nation during the 2022-23 academic year, tied with Pennsylvania State University.
“Our current educational models don’t effectively address how we can have better dialogue and collaboration on the other side of the border,” she said by phone Thursday while in Mexico City on a research trip. “A lot of times, especially in university settings, we talk about ‘the other’ and not with ‘the other.’ And that’s a problem.”
'The best of what we can achieve'
Before this year, King Ramírez had already used multiple small grants she got from the UA to build the framework of the project and engage other professors in the U.S. and Mexico. So, last year, when she applied to the Fulbright Program, she was able to show the legwork she’d already done and demonstrate the viability of the project.
“If it weren’t for some of those smaller (university) grants," she said, "I don’t think I would have received the Fulbright."
In addition to offering grant money for faculty to start up new projects, the UA also provides workshops on the Fulbright experience and application support for students, faculty, staff and recent alumni. Further, the university also supports visiting Fulbright scholars through its International Student Services and International Faculty and Scholars offices in UA International.
The UA also hosts an annual Fulbright Week (it's March 27-31 this year), which includes several events designed to help faculty, student and staff on their applications.
"The Fulbright Program is internationally renowned for its ability to translate academic research into meaningful, measurable impact on an international level," Betsy Cantwell, the UA's senior vice president for research and innovation, said in a news release. "I am proud to see University of Arizona faculty and students recognized and supported by a program that exemplifies the best of what we can achieve through cross-cultural collaboration."
When it comes to fostering that cross-cultural collaboration through an educational partnership, as King Ramírez has set out to do, the volume of support that comes with a Fulbright can make a difference.
For example, King Ramírez explained that when educational exchange programs like hers operate on a small, one-to-one scale, they often don’t last long because they’re reliant on one or two people to run it. She wanted a different outcome for this project.
”Without the Fulbright, I wouldn’t have been able to consolidate and grow the program,” she said. “I want this to be a movement of inclusive, sustainable international education.”
With the extra time and money the Fulbright scholarship has afforded, King Ramírez has been able to split her time between Arizona and Mexico and host workshops about the transborder education model for professors in both countries. As a result, she's been able to recruit more educators into building this partnership between American and Mexican students, “so that we have a network of universities and professors who are trained to participate in this transnational, interdisciplinary teaching model.”
To date, she’s secured partnerships between the UA and the University of Texas at El Paso, Eastern New Mexico University, University of Texas at San Antonio, Universidad de Sonora and CETTYS University in Baja California, Mexico. Her hope is that students who participate in these courses with their peers from across the border — conversational Spanish is required for English-speaking students — will be able to carry those lessons into the workplace after graduation.
“We need to create university projects that are giving our students transferable skills that will make them more employable on a global scale,” King Ramírez said, “which means they need to be able to work with a diverse team of colleagues.”
Here is the list of all 17 of this year’s Fulbright scholars from the UA and where they are conducting their research:
- Sarah Abney, researcher in environmental sciences, Center for Scientific Research of Yucatan in Mexico
- Albertina Antognini, professor of law, University of Stockholm in Sweden
- Dr. Jefferey Burgess, professor of public health, Monash University in Australia
- Betul Czerkawski, professor of instructional design and technology, University of Warsaw in Poland
- Albrecht Classen, professor of German Studies, Cairo University in Egypt
- Wilson de Lima Silva, assistant professor of linguistics, Colombia
- Richard Eaton, professor of history, India
- Carmen King Ramírez, associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese, University of Sonora in Mexico
- Emily Kotay, assistant director of international research, The German-American Fulbright Commission
- Dr. Richard Lane, professor of psychiatry, psychology and neuroscience, Sigmund Freud Museum in Austria
- Benjamin Lawrance, professor of history, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa
- Diana Liverman, professor of geography and development, University of Ottawa in Canada
- Purnima Madhivanan, associate professor of public health, Public Health Research Institute of India and the JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research in India
- Jonathon Reinhardt, professor of English and second language acquisition and teaching, Leuphana University of Luneburg in Germany
- Jennifer Verdolin, assistant professor in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment, Conservation Through Public Health in Uganda
- Mohan Tanniru, adjunct professor of public health, Lakehead University in Canada
- Andrew Woods, professors of law, University of Copenhagen in Denmark
At the center of the University of Arizona sits the historic Old Main. This building, first opened in 1891, has seen many changes through its life. It currently houses the offices of the president of the university. Video by Pascal Albright / Arizona Daily Star
