UNC Hosts Mexican Consul General Gómez Arnau
February 17, 2017
UNC Global Affairs
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill welcomed a delegation from the Consulate General of Mexico in Raleigh on Feb. 15, 2017. Consul General Remedios Gómez Arnau, who assumed her position in June 2016, and Mónica Colín, consul for community, political, economic and cultural affairs, visited to learn about UNC’s current engagement in Mexico and explore opportunities for collaboration.
“I was very pleased to learn about UNC’s continuous interest in strengthening bonds with Mexico, Mexican students and researchers,” said Gómez Arnau, “as well as about its engagement with issues that involve the Latino communities and cultures.”
Participants from UNC included Ron Strauss, executive vice provost and chief international officer; Lou Pérez, director of the Institute for the Study of the Americas (ISA); Beatriz Riefkohl Muñiz, associate director of ISA; Charlé LaMonica, director of World View; Katie Ziglar, director of the Ackland Art Museum; Katie Bowler Young, director of global relations for UNC Global; and Melissa McMurray, international liaison officer for UNC Global.
“UNC has broad and deep expertise related to Mexico and Latino/a migration, thanks in large part to the leadership of the Institute of the Study for the Americas,” said Ron Strauss. “We were delighted to have this opportunity to highlight our engagement with the Consul General and identify ways for the university and consulate to support each other.”
There are extensive research, study abroad and outreach initiatives in Mexico from schools and units across the UNC campus. For example, the Yucatec Maya Summer Institute organized by the Duke-UNC Consortium for Latin American Studies facilitates study of the modern Yucatec Maya language. Also, researchers with the Carolina Population Center’s Global Food Research Team partner with Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health to evaluate food taxes passed in Mexico to combat obesity.