Message from the Director

Spring 2009

Spring 2009 marks the completion of TBI's fourteenth year, and my sixth year as TBI Director. I am very pleased with TBI's progress during this time, thanks to the efforts of its hard-working staff, students, grantees, and other supporters. I especially want to recognize and thank our graduating student staff members who will be moving on to exciting career opportunities later this year: Stephanie Borrowdale, Judith Dávila, Emily Lawrence, Jennifer Gunsch, and Claudia Ornelas.

Over the last six years, TBI and its staff have organized over 120 conferences and events, worked with more than 25 USD student workers and interns, and provided over $220,000 in grant support to projects on various border related topics. Throughout this period, many of these TBI activities would not have been possible without financial contributions from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Tinker Foundation, Bank of America, the Open Society Justice Initiative, and other donors. This year TBI is particularly grateful for the generous financial support we received from local donors in our first major fund-raising effort, and look forward to expanding our programs and offerings in the future.

This year, TBI had several major accomplishments. In 2008-09, TBI hosted a range of programs on art, literature, journalism, immigration, migrant labor rights, crime and security, justice reform, and cross-border cooperation. Notably, TBI’s research helped policy makers in Washington, D.C. and the border region to evaluate the surge of cartel related violence in Mexico over the course of 2008.

Also, thanks to the direct sponsorship from the Dean of the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, TBI hosted a highly successful summit on the religious and comparative dimensions of global migration, during the April 15-16 conference on Migration, Religion, and National Identity. Over 250 students, faculty, and other participants attended the conference, which bridged academic, religious, and non-governmental organizations to explore the role and significance of religious and national identity for more than 200 million migrants around the world.

Through the Justice in Mexico Project, TBI also continued its collaboration with Mexican scholars and institutions on rule of law reform in Mexico, including a major project titled the Justiciabarómetro, which will survey police, prosecutors, public defenders and judges over the coming year to evaluate the workings of the criminal justice system. The project worked closely with the Universidad de Guadalajara, the Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores del Oriente (ITESO), and the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California.

On this side of the border, TBI worked closely with the Pacific Council on International Policy to host a two-day roundtable, featuring co-chairs Alan Bersin and Andres Rozenthal, to evaluate the prospects for improving cross-border collaboration between the United States and Mexico. TBI also reported the results of its micro-credit study of Los Niños, and continued its collaboration with the Universidad Iberoamericana in a cross-border summer immersion program that will take place from May through June.

The coming year will be one of special celebration. Like NAFTA, TBI will celebrate its 15th year. During the entire 2009-2010 academic year, I will be on sabbatical, with Charles Pope serving as interim-director. I’ve been working with Charles intermittently since 1998, when we both began working on border issues at San Diego Dialogue. I have tremendous appreciation for Charles’ ingenuity, professionalism, and strong commitment to the cross-border community. He will be an excellent steward for TBI while I’m on leave.

I look forward to returning at the start of the 2010 academic year, when Mexico will also begin the celebrations for its bicentennial independence and the 100th anniversary of the Mexican revolution. It’s going to be quite a party!

Sincerely,

David A. Shirk, Ph.D.
Director, Trans-Border Institute