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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 10, 2004
CONTACT: Kay Hendricks, ACCD Coordinator of Communication, 210/208-8006

INTERNATIONAL TRADE EXPERT ADAMS, FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR TO KICK OFF ACCD’S INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION WEEK

In celebration of International Education Week, the Alamo Community College District will host a kickoff event on Monday, November 15, at 11 a.m. in the Community Meet-ing Room of the ACCD’s George E. Killen Community Education and Service Center at 201 W. Sheridan.

John A. Adams, Jr., executive director of the Laredo Development Foundation and a strong advocate of international trade for more than two decades, will deliver the key-note address. ACCD Chancellor J. Terence Kelly will introduce Adams and address the importance of international education at community colleges. Offering an added perspective at the event will be Maria Suyapa Nunez, an ACCD international student from Honduras, and Dr. Gulnara Oiratovna Abikeyeva, a journalist with Megalopolis newspaper in Almaty, Kazakhstan, who is visiting scholar with the Fulbright Program.

“A global perspective and an understanding of many different cultures and attitudes is vital to our students as well as our entire community,” said ACCD Chancellor Dr. J. Terence Kelly. “This event is part of our ongoing efforts to provide a global perspective for our students that will prepare them for success in today’s interconnected world.”

Adams, who is currently chairman of the industry sector advisory council for trade policy review at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C., will address the interdependence of countries and cultures and the importance of international education, not just in terms of language, but also in terms of culture, commerce, diplomacy and study abroad. A question and answer session from students, faculty and community members will follow his presentation.

Adam’s experience in academia and the private sector, dealing with international commerce and border issues, offers a unique perspective on globalization. Since 1985, Adams has conducted an extensive amount of trade in Latin America, with emphasis on the emerging industrial and financial markers in Mexico. As an international banker in the 1990’s, Adams worked with more than 200 companies to evaluate and expand both regional and international markets.

In 1988, Adams was named National Exporter of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration, and he was recognized by President Reagan at the White House for the development of innovative export programs to assist domestic businesses entering international markets. In addition to conducting trade in all parts of the globe, he negotiated one of the first joint ventures between a Texas and Soviet company in 1990. In 1991 he headed the trade-negotiating group of the first organized American private sector commercial mission to Albania in nearly five decades.

Adams has spoken throughout the U.S. and at international trade conferences in Japan, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, Canada, Albania, Romania, China, Greece and Germany. He is adjunct professor of international banking and finance at Texas A&M International University in Laredo and is the author of numerous books and publications.

Adams holds Ph.D., master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Texas A&M University, graduated from the American-Nicaraguan School in Managua, completed the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at SMU with honors, was an IBF summer intern at the London Business School and holds both a Series 7 and CED-certified economic developer credentials.

The observance of International Education Week began in 2000 as part of a larger response by the State Department and Department of Education to an April 19, 2000 Presidential Directive aimed at increasing support for international education. The week is intended as a global forum for promoting and celebrating the benefits of international education.

International Education Week events will be held November 15-19 at all four of the ACCD’s colleges—Northwest Vista College, Palo Alto College, St. Philip’s College and San Antonio College. These include film festivals, speakers, displays and international cuisine.