SENATE MEMORIAL 100

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013

INTRODUCED BY

Mary Kay Papen

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO LEGISLATURE TO RECOGNIZE DR. CANDACE KAYE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AND DIRECTOR OF THE NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION INSTITUTE FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD STUDIES, AND NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY'S COLLEGE OF EDUCATION FOR OPENING OPPORTUNITIES FOR CULTURAL, EDUCATIONAL AND ECONOMIC EXCHANGE THROUGH A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE MONGOLIAN STATE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION.

     WHEREAS, Mongolia is a mostly rural country located in Asia, is slightly smaller than Alaska and lies between China and Russia; and

     WHEREAS, Mongolia has vast semi-desert and desert plains, grassy steppes with mountains in the west and southwest and, like New Mexico, experiences dust storms, grassland and forest fires, drought and harsh winter conditions; and

     WHEREAS, Mongolia has a population of three million two hundred thousand, compared to New Mexico's population of two million one hundred thousand; and

     WHEREAS, Mongolia is a democracy with a registered voter turnout of more than eighty percent and in which women make up more than one-third of its government ministers; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Candace Kaye is a former United States diplomatic attache to Mongolia and a Fulbright scholar who, in 2010 and 2011, conducted research in Mongolia on the impact of its educational policies for young children; and

     WHEREAS, through Dr. Kaye's efforts, New Mexico state university's college of education has entered into a memorandum of understanding for a term of five years with the Mongolian state university of education to promote the exchange of students, faculty and administrative staff; and

     WHEREAS, the educational systems in both Mongolia and New Mexico have similar goals and challenges in providing early childhood education to rural and underserved areas; and

     WHEREAS, under the auspices of the memorandum of understanding, Mongolia seeks to transform its educational system from a teacher-centered approach that is a holdover from the country's former status as part of the former Soviet Union to a student-centered approach rooted in western thought and culture; and

     WHEREAS, another purpose of the agreement is to promote collaborative research projects, lectures, symposia, seminars and workshops as well as the exchange of academic information and materials; and

     WHEREAS, the memorandum of understanding between New Mexico state university and the Mongolian state university of education is an important first step toward expanded cultural, educational and economic exchange opportunities between Mongolia and New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the economies of both Mongolia and New Mexico depend on agriculture, the raising of livestock and the exploration and development of mineral and petroleum resources; and

     WHEREAS, Mongolia's estimated 2012 gross domestic product was fifteen billion two hundred twenty million dollars ($15,220,000,000), with a real growth rate of twelve and seven-tenths percent; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico's 2012 gross domestic product was eighty-two billion five hundred million dollars ($82,500,000,000), with a much lower growth rate of three and nine-tenths percent;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that Dr. Candace Kaye be recognized for her scholarship in comparative early childhood educational policies and curricula, her longstanding interest in Mongolia and its people and her vision to formalize a mutually beneficial relationship between the Mongolian state university and New Mexico state university; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that New Mexico state university's college of education be recognized as the first and only institution of higher education in the world to formalize a relationship with the Mongolian state university of education; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of the New Mexico legislature be requested to educate their constituents regarding the potential opportunities for educational, cultural and economic exchange with Mongolia that have been opened by New Mexico state university through its memorandum of understanding with the Mongolian state university of education; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the regents and president of New Mexico state university, the dean of the college of education of New Mexico state university, each member of the New Mexico legislature, Dr. Candace Kaye, the president of the Mongolian state university in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and the early childhood education sector of the ministry of education, culture and science of Mongolia.

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