International Programs
In an effort to initiate collaborative efforts between the University of Montana and institutions of higher education in Latin America, I visited several universities in 
Argentina during the summer of 2005. The IP has been active establishing formal agreements with several Spanish speaking universities (both in Spain and Latin America). Of the 19 Spanish speaking countries in Latin America the UM has formal agreements with two of them (two universities in Mexico and two in Chile). My summer trip to Argentina constituted an opening to institutions of higher education in Argentina. The need to expand the Latin American connection and opportunities for our students and faculty is important for the University of Montana, specially now that we offer a Latin American studies degree where we encourage our students to engage in a study abroad experience before graduation. With the support of the International Committee, the IP and the Office of the Provost I traveled this summer to Argentina to initiate these contacts. Having been born, raised and educated in Argentina and having had a long professional relationship with several educational and research institutions in that country, this time I geared my efforts to consolidate ties that would benefit the UM at large both in its educational and research opportunities.
Argentina, a Spanish speaking country of 40 million people located in the southern cone of South America has one of the highest levels of education in South America (97% literacy rate, 27 public and more than 35 universities, some with a long tradition and some created in the last 25 years. Argentina exerts a leading role in the area attracting students from border countries like Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. Some academic units at UM (Biology, Forestry, Geography, Yellow Bay Biological Station and my own department, MCLL) already have research interactions and bilateral projects with Argentina colleagues and institutions. A formal agreement with institutions there would only consolidate these ties and create new avenues for mutual growth and interaction. The University of Montana also receives foreign students from Argentina and send students to universities through the International Programs mainly through the ISEP program, a flow that we could capitalize in a better way if we were to have formal agreements with some of these institutions.
I visited and made contacts with four institutions: two in the city of Buenos Aires (Universidad del Salvador and Universidad de Belgrano) and two in the Northwestern region of Argentina (Universidad Nacional de Tucumán and Universidad Católica de Salta). While visiting these institutions I had in mind both faculty and students' interests and potential exchanges and I will organize my report sharing with you my observations, conclusions and recommendations. Needless to say, I am enthusiastic to have the opportunity to share these observations with the International Committee, the IP and the Provost Office to arrive to a wise, sound decision as to which collaborative efforts we should follow up to establish formal agreements.
Universidad del Salvador: (USAL) (Buenos Aires, Argentina).
The Universidad del Salvador (USAL) is located in the cultural and business center of Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina. Most schools and academic departments are very close, within walking distance and the University has recently inaugurated a Campus (Nuestra Se?ora del Pilar) located about 20 miles from downtown Buenos Aires. This campus includes sports facilities (that were not available to students when I attended this University about 20 years ago). The USAL has a long tradition in Argentina and was created by the Jesuit order, founded on the educational principles of San Ignacio de Loyola. Jesuits, as is well known, have exerted an enormous influence in middle and higher education in Latin American countries and in Argentina in particular. Its total student enrollment is of about 15,000 (including 350 exchange students per year) and the USAL covers most areas of knowledge (including a School of Medicine and a School of Law). It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees (MA and PhD) and is a also a research institution in all areas that grant degrees. For a complete listing of degrees offered you may visit its web page: http://www.salvador.edu.ar/home/index.html
In our specific area of interest, the Universidad del Salvador has a serious commitment to promote international programs for academic development and training of 
students and faculty members and has signed formal agreements with universities all over the world. They count with an office for International Students (OPII) which oversees all exchange student activities, provides academic counseling, orientation sessions, and organize social and cultural events. Foreign students attend both regular USAL classes as well as Spanish language, cultural and history classes specially tailored for them. In this way, students can make a smooth transition until they are fully incorporated into the Argentinean academic experience. My colleague at the MCLL department, Dr. Clary Loisel, made a preliminary contact with this office in April 2005 and initiated these conversations which I followed up and consolidated during my summer visit. His report was presented to the above mentioned UM offices and I refer you to his comments and observations about the USAL programs, which I fully support and share. I had extensive and several conversations with Andrea Casaretto, Viviana Giudice, Maria Soloeta, and Mirta Estela Barreiro, who directs and leads the International Programs. In all our conversations we consolidated the ties already initiated by my colleague and I saw a genuine interest from their part to continue this contact with the aim of signing a formal agreement. They already had ample information about UM supplied by Dr. Loisel during his visit and had reviewed it carefully.
The student exchange aspect of the agreement is an area which this institution has fully developed. UM students would benefit enormously from the well organized and planned programs the Universidad del Salvador has to offer. They have a sound and solid language program for students from all over the world, transition programs targeted to foreign students (in Spanish) which cover history, politics, social issues etc. and they incorporate students into their regular classes where they interact with Argentinean students fully sharing the academic life of local students and their educational environment. The Office is also well equipped with personnel that take care of several different aspects of foreign students life: housing, adjustment, cultural and social events and they are effective in promoting a smooth and straightforward communication with universities abroad.
The array of programs they offer is ample and diverse, being a university with a strong a long tradition in Buenos Aires: programs which would complement and add to the programs offered at UM: Art history, literature, political sciences, social communication, Environmental Studies, Journalism, International trade, Forestry Engineering, just to name o few of the several department and academic units they have. I was able to visit the campus that the USAL has in Pilar, which has 100 hectares, 40 classrooms, and a library. The academic activities on campus are complemented by facilities to practice several sports: soccer, hockey, rugby, volleyball and basketball.
As for the interest and potential interaction with faculty members (both in teaching and research) I see an enormous array of possibilities for our faculty from different UM academic units once our faculty get acquainted with the institution and the possible interactions in their respective areas. In my own area, I have multiple and important contacts in the area of Language and Literature, being myself a graduate of this institution. During this visit, I had a long and productive conversation with Dr. Alicia Sisca, Dean of the School of History and Literature (Secretaria Académica de la Facultad de Historia y Letras of the USAL) and discussed the multiple opportunities of interactions between faculty with that particular school, as well as her high interest in having their students attend the University of Montana and receiving students from Missoula. As part of my connection and interaction with the Facultad de Historia y Letras, I was able to visit one of their upper division classes and give a presentation on my current research about contemporary novels which fictionalize the tracing of the Argentinean frontier in Patagonia.
The main concern that was raised by the USAL International Programs was the feasibility of their own faculty to come to the United States given the high disparity that exists today between the Argentinean peso and the American dollar. In this aspect, I believe that there may be creative ways to make viable this aspect of the interaction. In my own academic unit (Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures) it is very possible to incorporate the visit (which would combine teaching and research opportunities) through a rearrangement of our own teaching assignments and the use of resources we usually assign to adjunct faculty who have to be hired to help us with the language component of our Spanish. In this way we could give space for an Argentinean specialist to come to Missoula and teach a combination of language and literature of his/her specialty. Other units, would have to devise creative ways to give way to this opportunity. There is ample room in this area to discuss at several levels (The International Committee, the IP, the CAS Office and the Office of the Provost) to find adequate ways to materialize these valuable and desirable interactions.
In short, following the observations and conclusions of my MCLL colleague, Dr. Clary Loisel, I fully agree with him that it would be in the best interest of the University of Montana to advance on the negotiations towards the consolidation of a formal agreement with the Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires. In my capacity as an Argentinean citizen and also graduate of the USAL, I would be more than happy in facilitation further contact with the institution in order to advance into the details on how to implement this agreement.
Universidad de Belgrano (UB), (Buenos Aires, Argentina).
During my visit to Buenos Aires I also contacted the Universidad de Belgrano (UB), another private university founded in the 1960's. The institution has a solid reputation in Argentina and throughout Latin America and has experienced an enormous growth in the last 25 years. It offers both graduate and undergraduate programs. My main contact at the Universidad de Belgrano is the Dean of the School of Languages and Foreign Studies (Facultad de Lenguas y Estudios Extranjeros), Professor Raquel Albornoz. The school offers one of the top programs in public, scientific and literary translation in addition to its regular courses of English language. It trains public translators who work on legal and official documents and any other area where professional translators are required. Recently the School has inaugurated a Master's degree in Translation which is the only program to grant this degree in Argentina. My visit to the School of Foreign Languages at UB was very beneficial and we discussed with Professor Albornoz several collaborative efforts between MCLL and the department she leads at the UB.
The UB also has an active and vigorous International Programs which collaborates with several universities all over the world, the United Stats, Europe and Asia, and even offer graduate degrees in collaboration with institutions abroad. I was very impressed when I visited their web page and was able to see the organization of the office and the multiple services they offer foreign students. However, when I visited the office itself and had my meeting with the person in charge Ms. Diana Schiro, I could not see an enthusiastic response in expanding the international programs they are already running and on initiating new agreements with other universities. It was suggested that contacts could be initiated through academic units and if those resulted in valuable efforts that would contribute to both institutions, then conversations would to include an institutional involvement.
I personally think that, at this point, it is not in our best interest to further any advances with the International Programs at UB since their reception did not open a fruitful dialogue towards an agreement which could be materialized in the near future which is what we are aiming at right now. I will, of course, continue my contacts with Dean Albornoz who was very enthusiastic about the idea of initiating collaborative efforts between her own academic unit and our own (MCLL). For more information on the Universidad de Belgrano you may visit their web site: http://www.ub.edu.ar/
Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. (UNT), San Miguel de Tucumán, Provincia de Tucumán.
Tucumán is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest region of the country. The capital is San Miguel de Tucumán, often short Tucumán and has a population of 1,338,523 (2001), and covers an area of 22,524 square km. It has borders with neighboring provinces of Salta, Santiago del Estero, and Catamarca. It has received the nickname "El Jardín de la República" (The Republic's Garden) because of its exuberant vegetation and its mild climate. The Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT) is located in the capital city which is the largest city in northwestern Argentina. Founded in1565 by Spanish Diego de Villaroel traveling south from Peru it was moved to the present site in 1685. It is situated at an altitude of 450 meters.
The city sits on the slopes of the Aconquija Mountains, the easternmost mountain range before the large Chaco-Pampean flats. It is the commercial center of an irrigated area that produces large quantities of sugarcane, rice, tobacco, and fruit. The city has an enormous historical importance for Argentina since in July 9, 1816, a congress gathered in Tucumán and declared its independence from Spain, which was not officially recognized until 1862. The meeting place of this early Congress, La Casa de la Independencia, has been preserved as a national shrine.
The UNT is the only public institution I visited while in Argentina. It serves over 52,000 students and is one of the leading research state Universities in Argentina with an enormous prestige due to its high standards, its educational opportunities and its research leadership in the nation. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs in almost every discipline. It counts with eleven schools or colleges: Agronomy and Zootechnology, Architecture and Urbanism, Biochemistry and Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology, Natural Sciences, Law and Social Sciences, Arts and Philosophy, Medicine and Dentistry. It also counts with a Biological Natural Sciences Reserve (Parque Biológico de Sierras San Javier), two cultural centers with an active outreach agenda to the Tucuman community, a University Radio Station, sports facilities and a Housing Complex. For more detailed information you may visit its web site http://www.unt.edu.ar/
Being a research institution, The UNT sustains several research institutes and centers in addition to its regular academic programs. Each School runs several research centers which are too many to include here. Only in my own area of concentration (Literature and Linguistics) the School of Arts and Philosophy (Facultad de Filosofia y Letras) supports nine institutes which develop each one several research programs some of them funded by the CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas).
Some academic units at UM already have established research projects with the UNT. The Biological Station in Yellow Bay has bilateral projects with biologists from that institution. Dr. Hugo Fernandez and Dr. Laura Miserendino, both from Ecosystem Sciences (UNT) spent lengthy stays (12 months ) in Yellow Bay sharing their research and expertise on bird species in Argentina. As part of the interactions between the Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit and the Universidad de Tucumán Biological Sciences School on bird species research two graduates from UNT have traveled to Missoula and worked for the MCWR Unit: Alina Niklison and Maria Jose Foguet. Dr. Carlos Baied, a UM faculty affiliate and regular visiting professor at UM is actively involved in archaeological projects and field work led by the Instituto de Arqueología y Museo dependent of the Facultad de Ciencias Naturales from the Universidad de Tucuman contributing in a team of archaeologists as a specialist in pollen analysis and paleoenvironment.
From my personal research involvement with UNT academic units I have had a long contact with the Instituto Interdisciplinario de Estudios Latinoamericanos led by Dr. Carmen Perilli and the Instituto de Historia y Pensamiento Argentino directed by Dr. Ricardo Kaliman, a scholar with whom I have had a long academic relationship. During my visit to Tucuman I also attended the Congreso Nacional de Literatura Argentina where I presented a scholarly paper on my current research on the imaginary tracing of the southern border frontier. During this event, I had the opportunity to interact with faculty and students from the School of Philosophy and Letters (Facultad de Filosofia y Letras) and I spent time over dinner with Dr. Carmen Perilli discussing aspects of our professional interaction. I also interacted, together and through professional contacts that Dr. Carlos Baied , UM affiliate and member of the Latin American Studies Program, with the director of the Instituto de Arqueología, Dr. Carlos Aschero one of the leading archaeologists in Argentina and director of the project where Dr. Carlos Baied is a member of the research project "Archaeology, Anthropology and History of Contrasted Landscapes. Articulation, interaction and social change". We discussed the possibility of students from the University of Montana participating in research projects.
For all of the above, I am convinced that a formal agreement with the Universidad de Tucumán would strengthen the ties that already have been created by faculty members due to their research agenda and interests. An agreement would facilitate the possibility of faculty visiting and spending time in Tucumán and the presence of faculty in our campus.
While in Tucumán and accompanied by Dr. Carmen Perilli from the area of Latin American Literature I visited the International Programs and had a formal meeting with Hugo Sosa in charge of International Relationship. I did not see in the Office a solid organization which would be able to receive our UM students and facilitate their insertion in the UNT system. Even thought the academic standards and quality of education is of its highest degree in this institution, we also need an infrastructure for students which I saw at the USAL and the UB. My observation was that most of the academic agreements signed by UNT and foreign institutions were generated by the individual efforts of particular academic units and were later institutionalized by University officials. However, to serve our UM students we need a more solid organizational structure that would be able to guide our students through the intricacies of the Argentinean public university system. Further contacts with the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán need to be explored and followed up to generate dialogues that would make the Argentinean counterpart our additional expectations for our American students: the access to Spanish language classes, some offering that would be targeted to foreign students before incorporating them into the Argentinean public education and a smooth infrastructure to facilitate their settling down locally (housing, social events etc). It is important to continue these efforts given the high academic standards of the University.
In short, I am most enthusiastic about the possibilities for faculty to continue and strengthen even more the already valuable cooperation efforts that are done. As for the benefits it would have for our undergraduate students I think we should wait until the university organizes a more articulate center that would be able to facilitate and open the multiple possibilities the University has to offer. Having said this, I do think that there are valuable opportunities for more mature graduate students that are more advanced in their careers and could take advantage of the many research opportunities offered by the University.
Universidad Catolica de Salta (UCSAL), Salta, Provincia de Salta.
The last University I visited in Argentina was the Universidad Católica de Salta, about 200 miles north of the city of San Miguel de Tucuman. The University is located in the city of Salta, capital of the province with the same name and has a campus about eight miles from its downtown offices and classrooms. Salta is also located in Northwestern Argentina. The Northwestern region of Argentina with borders with Bolivia, Chile and Paraguay was the first port of entry of the Spanish conquistadores from the Viceroyalty of Peru in the XVI century. For this reason, this area still maintains a strong colonial flavor and fascinating history and, at the same time, displays remains of pre-Columbian civilizations, among them the Inca. The well preserved colonial city of Salta is the heart of this corridor that linked the Viceroyalty of Lima with the Buenos Aires port during colonial times. Founded in 1582 by Hernando de Lerma it still bears its distinct Hispanic character and is the home of 400,000 "salte?os". There is a spectacular variety of landscapes around Salta: magnificent mountains, valleys, the Puna and the subtropical flora and fauna of the Yungas.
The Universidad Católica de Salta is a young private institution founded in 1963 which has experienced a rapid growth and become one of the leading higher education institutions in Argentina, specially in the Northwestern region. Inspired by the mission of Jesuit education which, as previously mentioned, has a long academic tradition in all Latin American countries, the University has actively expanded its presence in the nation, opening several branches all over the country and rapidly developing international ties, making it today a modern university where research is combined with excellence in teaching. During its 42 years of education mission the University has expanded its many areas of study and today offers degrees in most areas of knowledge from tourism and Law to Environmental Studies and Computer Sciences. They have recently opened a new campus, Casta?ares, where a whole new development of the curricula was implemented in the last 15 years to better respond to the challenges of the XXI century. Research in many areas has been placed as high priority. Some of the important areas where efforts were concentrated have been studies of deforestation of the autochthonous forest of the province of Salta, the development of technology to implement an important environmental project of protection of drinking water and many others in different areas in the sciences, the social sciences and the humanities. The University has worked closely with the provincial government to develop various economic sectors with the aim of developing the economy of the region. In this vein theUniversidad Católica de Salta has made important contributions in the area of demographic research and planning with the intention to use adequately the resources that are present in the region. Another area where important contributions have been made is archaeology. The creation of the Instituto de Investigación de Alta Montana has worked intensively with Argentinean and scholars from other countries on the sites where theLlullaillaco mummies were found in 1999, an important Inca sanctuary in the summit of Mount Llullaillaco at 6739 meters above sea level. TheUniversidad Catolica de Salta was instrumental and provided the necessary funds to uncover the mummies which date from five centuries ago and are a vivid evidence of the Inca civilization. Being the province of Salta a major tourist national and international attraction in Northwestern Argentina, the UCSAL has also contributed to tourism development in the province through its project Desde las Raices Profundas. The University also has a top quality Linguistics Program offering undergraduate and graduate programs. Proof of this is the recently organized international colloquium held in July 2005 where the top linguistics experts in the nation got together, also attracting international figures in the field.
During my stay in Salta I had the opportunity to meet twice with Dr. Roberto Ibarguren, Director of the Instituto de Asuntos Académicos, Económicos e Internacionales of the UCSAL who also serves as the main representative from the Province of Salta to the Argentinean Foreign Affairs Office (Cancillería Nacional Argentina). Dr. Ibarguren, a geologist by profession, is an extremely well read, and well traveled sophisticated man who has been in charge of this Office for a little over a year. He was extremely interested in my visit and the possibility to develop bilateral ties and cooperation between the two institutions. Since he became director of this Office several agreements with academic institutions abroad have been signed, specially in Asia where Argentina is now developing strong trade agreements. Dr. Ibarguren is eager to expand these agreements with North American institutions. During my first visit we discussed these possibilities and he showed me some of the offices and facilities they had in the city of Salta. I left with him all the material prepared by the IP Office and that I had taken with me giving ample information about the University of Montana. On the following day I visited with him again and after he had looked at the printed material and had the opportunity to visit our web site, he was even more enthusiastic about the project. He was specially interested in the various offerings in the School of Forestry (Recreation Management and Forestry and Resource Conservation, the School of Business Administration and its concentration in International Business, our Anthropology Department, Environmental Studies Programs and many others).
The Universidad Catolica de Salta has a varied curriculum and out of the four universities I visited this is the one that displays the most vigorous growth and expansion. It is comprised by eight Schools: (Facultad de Arquitectura, Facultad de Artes y Ciencias, Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas, Facultad de Ingeniería e Informática, Facultad de Economía y Administración, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Veterinaria, Escuela de Negocios andEscuela de Educación Permanente and Posgrados en Salud). And each one of them is comprised of several departments granting undergraduate and graduate degrees in some cases.
A formal agreement with the Universidad Católica de Salta can offer the University of Montana a variety of research and educational opportunities for UM faculty and students and my visit to the institution, its campus and various conversations with authorities have revealed their strong interest in developing collaborative efforts with the University of Montana in areas of common interest for both institutions. In addition to these academic opportunities the area offers a richness of wildlife, soils, and landscapes. Salta is a city that can be in size compared to Missoula and is surrounded by an immense richness of wildlife, soils and landscapes The name of the city of Salta ( and the province) comes from an Aymara voice ("La linda", "the beautiful"): its natural beauty, its cultural and historical richness with a mixture of Inca and Spanish colonial legacy with its growing and vibrant contemporary life all combine with the academic opportunities it can offer.
Conclusion and observations:
Of the four institutions I visited this summer in Argentina, I believe we need to aggressively follow up our contacts with the Universidad del Salvadorand the Universidad Católica de Salta in an effort to sign formal agreements in the near future. I also think that the contacts and communications with the other two institutions (specially with the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán) need to be followed up as well in order to see if, in the long run, institutional agreements are worthwhile pursuing. The Universidad del Salvador and the Universidad Católica de Salta offer the best balance between opportunities that can be beneficial both to our students and to our faculty. I reiterate my willingness and enthusiasm about any possibility I have (as an Argentinean national) to facilitate and be instrumental in materializing these formal agreements.
Needless to say this trip to Argentina was enormously beneficial for the research that I am developing on contemporary Argentinean fiction. I do not extend myself on the academic growth and invaluable opportunities I had to visit libraries, interact with colleagues, specially during my visit to Tucuman since the main goal of this professional trip was to create and initiate the contact for a formal agreement between UM and an Argentinean institution.
I believe it would be a good idea to be able to invite Dr. Ibarguren to visit the University of Montana campus sometime this academic year to give Dr. Ibarguren the opportunity to further discuss with the various academic units and UM administrative offices of the University the many advantages and possibilities we can develop in a joint effort.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions regarding my trip to Argentina. I take this opportunity to thank the Office of the Provost, The International Programs and the International Committee for supporting this trip and giving me the opportunity to initiate these important inter-institutional collaborations.
