NAU signed a memorandum of understanding with Castro Carazo University in Costa Rica last week, making official a longtime collaboration between the two universities that started two years ago via an introduction by Arizona Board of Regents Chair Cecilia Mata.
Pamela Villalobos, president and CEO of Castro Carazo University, signed the MOU alongside NAU President José Luis Cruz Rivera on Thursday. Dignitaries from both universities joined them.
The two universities are building on their shared strengths around ecology and forestry; CCU owns La Marta, a wildlife refuge that protects not only animals but also the rainforest ecosystem. La Marta, which is largely used for study and observation instead of tourism, also is the ancient homeland of various Indigenous peoples.
“Castro Carazo University is undoubtedly one of NAU’s most important partners, and I am pleased that since we met in 2022, our two universities have made significant progress in collaborations from using La Marta as a study abroad site for multiple programs to collaborative grant applications in semiconducting areas,” Cruz Rivera said. “I know NAU students and faculty have already had some outstanding experiences at La Marta, including our longstanding Spanish immersion program and our newly developed NAU-High School Momentum study abroad program.”
The first cohort of study abroad students went to Costa Rica in July as part of the NAU-High School Momentum Education Abroad, an initiative that recruits out-of-state high school students to start their NAU education with a 6-credit study abroad program. Those students started their first year at NAU in August.
The two universities also submitted a collaborative statement of interest in response to a call from the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs for the creation of workforce development programs related to the CHIPS Act. Other plans for the future include launching a study abroad program in environmental sustainability and business in December and continued programs in Spanish immersion and the NAU-High School Momentum Education Abroad program.