Guanajuato, Gto., September 5, 2017.- The University of Guanajuato (UG) and the Southern Oregon University (SOU) reaffirmed their friendship ties by signing the Letter of Intent which was made in the first visit with Dr. Linda Schott, SOU President for the University of Guanajuato.

The letter confirms the commitment of both institutions to celebrate the 50th anniversary of academic and cultural collaboration between UG and SOU, which is next to occur.

The signing was presided by the President of the University of Guanajuato, Dr. Luis Felipe Guerrero Agripino and by the SOU President, Dr. Linda Schott, who agreed to continue working in favor of a fruitful and enriching collaboration for both institutions.

UG's President mentioned that celebrating the signing of the Letter of Intent has a transcendental meaning, because it symbolizes the ties of both universities with the intention to make more academic changes in various knowledge areas such as Social Sciences and Humanities, Health Sciences, and Arts, to mention some.

"Both institutions have a great responsibility, follow up a great university 50-year friendship tradition, the universities cannot function by themselves, we require collaboration, we are committed to continue reinforcing these fraternal ties," emphasized Dr. Guerrero.

The signing was held at the Armando Olivares Library, place where Dr. Linda Schott, SOU President, gave a conference about the future of higher education and how to prepare the students for employment and life.

At her conference, she emphasized the challenges higher education institutions must face in the future, she indicated that one of the main challenges of the universities is technological development, because this changes the ways to teach and learn. Also, she highlighted that technology is modifying some employments that have replaced by machines, so the students must be prepared to have many employments perspectives and prepare for the future.

She mentioned key concepts with which SOU works on, these are: inclusion, because in their students there is a cultural diversity; sustainability, because they engage with the environment; and defines itself as a university who thinks in creating a better future, with the intention to create a pedagogy where the students generate critic and reflexive thinking, and self-learning, with the intention to expand their capabilities even more.

During the event, UG's Pro Vost, Dr. Héctor Efraín Rodriguez de la Rosa, spoke about the history between the University of Guanajuato and Southern Oregon University; he highlighted that both institutions kept a productive relationship for 50 years with the program "Amistad" which began in 1969. This program is defined as the academic and institutional liaison between the universities which has grown stronger every day and every year, thanks to the enthusiasm of the students, professors and administrative staff who participate in their exchange programs.

At the event were present: The Secretary of Management and Development, Dr. Jorge Romero Hidalgo; the Rector of Campus Guanajuato, Dr. Teresita de Jesús Rendón Huerta Barrera; the Rector of Campus Leon, Dr. Carlos Hidalgo Valadez; the Member of the Board at SOU, Dr. Daniel Santos; as well as directors from UG.

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