Ferris State University President Bill Pink (right) speaks to Mexican General Consul
Roberto Nicolas (center) during a visit to the Ferris main campus on Tuesday, Jan.
24. Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Bobby Fleischman (left) coordinated
the visit from members of the Mexican consulate.
Roberto Nicolas, the Consul of Mexico for Michigan’s Lower Peninsula and adjoining regions of the Upper Peninsula and northern Ohio, received a brief but vivid picture of Ferris State University’s academic colleges and programs. He also expressed intentions for further cooperation during a visit to the main campus in Big Rapids Tuesday, Jan. 24.
Leaders from Ferris’ administration and its Office of International Education greeted Nicolas and members of the consulate staff on Tuesday. Nicolas, who has been a member of the Mexican Foreign Service since 2007, toured the Ferris campus and was a special guest at a luncheon with President Bill Pink and the deans of the academic colleges, before participating in a moderated discussion in the Interdisciplinary Resource Center.
“This is an amazing place. It was great to have this visit and hear of the work being done at Ferris,” Nicolas said. “We look forward to opportunities for collaboration with the university.”
The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Bobby Fleischman’s office, in cooperation with leadership at the World Affairs Council of West Michigan, coordinated Nicolas’ visit. Fleischman joined Nicolas in the moderated discussion in the IRC, saying he looks forward to greater international opportunities, including faculty-led study abroad programs resuming in the Spring 2024 semester.
“I feel we are headed in a very good direction in terms of our offerings in international education,” Fleischman said. “We are planning further conversations and visits with the consulate in Detroit while we also begin greater connections with Hispanic organizations in Grand Rapids and the West Michigan region.”