The purposes of internationalizing curriculum and programs at Southwestern College were to better prepare students for careers in:
1. international commerce, government, and law, and
2. science, technology, and environmental protection with an emphasis on global issues.
Evangelista integrated the Environmental Technology program with The Baja Studies Certificate Program and the Mexican-American Joint Environmental Program.
The Baja Studies Certificate Program offered students courses that emphasized topics and issues related to Baja California, Mexico. With the Mexican border only three miles from Southwestern College, the border region was economically dominated by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with over 700 factories operating in Tijuana alone. The environmental-based EcoMundo courses comprised half of the program’s initial offerings. Evangelista developed EcoMundo: Environmental Technology and Issues that was first taught in Cusco, Peru.
Evangelista saught to initiate a Mexican-American study program with the goals of “establishing partnership with other educational institutions to meet needs for future educational programs and services and contributing to the economic development of the (border) region,” March 23, 1998 memo. The objective was to teach environmental technology courses at a college or university in Baja California, Mexico, with students co-registered at Southwestern College and at a Mexican partner college.
