December 10, 2009

Dr. Pamela Eibeck, President

University of the Pacific

Stockton, CA

Dear Dr. Eibeck,

I would like to add my voice to that of the covelianos (graduates of Elbert Covell College) who are extending, through Alberto Yánez (Venezuela, Class of 1972), their welcome to you as new President of U. O. P. and their plea that you actively support the Inter-American Studies Program of the School of International Studies. We feel that such a program has enormous economic and academic potential. It should help to redefine U.O.P. in the eyes of the State Department, as the pioneer again in strengthening the relationship with Latin America via bilingual and bicultural academic programs just as it happened under President Kennedy's administration in the 1960's.

To give you a feeling of the impact that Covell had on its students, I would like to cite some comments made by some graduates. In July of this year, covelianos celebrated a reunion on the U.O.P. campus in which we all rejoiced in the collegial experience with which we had been blessed and in which we rehashed the multiple benefits gleaned from those years. It was concluded by all that the mission of Covell had been to create "an inter-American spirit," educating bilingual specialists and business people who understand all American cultures and serve as effective communicators between the U. S. and Latin American milieus. This was the essence of the Alliance for Progress launched in 1962 by President Kennedy.

One coveliano concluded that "my reason for being a teacher is anchored in the work accomplished by the Covell faculty who consistently challenged us to think analytically. Such a novel place, one that I am saddened to see is not honored still and replicated as it should have been." Another concluded that Covell became her incubator: "a safe haven for me to grow, yet cross-culturally rich enough for me to appreciate as a world of plurality. Clearly a good model to spawn creative thinking. Covell to me was always a rich cross-fertilization of creative dialogue and was the beginning of my pathway to appreciating a society of inclusion, where together we can make each other better." One said that she came to understand what things we have and don't have in common and to appreciate each. Another said that fellow covelianos share a common education and a desire to unite multiple cultures.

Many remarked that these collegial contacts, facilitated by a wonderful student-faculty ratio, helped to enrich their understanding and appreciation of earth's human diversities. One said that in four years he had been able to learn more about so many countries than a person normally is able to do in a lifetime. Another graduate said that the preparation she had received at Covell "opened the doors for me to achieve what the founders of the college had dreamed of: integrating U.S. businesses with Latin American cultures. In the 1990's, I opened markets and established channels of distribution for a number of companies in Latin America." Another said that every job she had ever had she had been able to get because her language skills and cultural understanding had impressed the interviewer enough to hire her.

Finally, one outstanding student suggested that the Inter-American Studies program "was to me the most complete, all-around, versatile educational experience in which I have the privilege of having participated. ECC not only contributed to my preparation as an economist and business administrator but it also gave me the most unique and complete opportunity for living and learning from peers whose countries, culture and way of life were much different from mine."

The new SIS, successor to ECC, carries on the Covell tradition of housing its students in a Spanish-speaking dormitory so that even outside the classroom they can share ideas and experiences with each other--the very essence of the Covell experience..

I have been much impressed by the way you have inaugurated your stewardship of the university, as you professed at a recent meeting of the Emeriti Society to be a "listener"--i.e., one disposed to hear and digest the goals and their rationale of all parts of the university. We urge you especially to give special consideration to helping develop again the Inter-American Program based essentially on our previous experiences.

Sincerely,

H. Leslie Robinson, Professor Emeritus

Elbert Covell College

UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC