Under the motto “Passion that Inspires, Leadership that Transcends”, the President of CETYS University, Dr. Fernando León-García, led the official 60th Anniversary Ceremony.

Sixty years of educational service, preparing the leaders that Mexico and the world need were commemorated by CETYS University in a hybrid event with limited in-person attendance at the facilities of the recently renewed and reopened «Jesús Rodríguez Montes Auditorium» on the Mexicali Campus.

CETYS University, in its Mexicali, Tijuana, and Ensenada campuses, as in the rest of Baja California and the northwest region of Mexico, celebrates its unquestionable role in the development and competitiveness of the country, the result of an unwavering commitment to the comprehensive development of students.

During September 2021, the CETYS’ family passionately celebrated the relevance of CETYS’ foundation, announced Dr. Fernando León-García, President of CETYS University. Dr. León-García accompanied by Gustavo Vildósola-Ramos, Board Chair of the Instituto Educativo del Noroeste A.C. (IENAC); Professor Gerardo Solís-Benavides, Secretary of Education of Baja California, representing Baja California Governor, Jaime Bonilla-Valdés; the Mayor of Mexicali, Guadalupe Mora-Quiñónez; Francisco Núñez-Tapia, representing the Academic Advisory Council of the CETYS System; as well as Izabella Santaella-Angulo, representing CETYS students, led the anniversary party.

León-García remembered those who preceded him in office and the outstanding work they performed at the head of the institution. He invited the audience to observe a minute of silence in memory of the recently departed former Presidents, Jesús Alfonso Marín-Jiménez and Enrique Carlos Blancas. The CETYS’ President stated that 2021 is a year of transition, in which the CETYS 2020 plan will see its closure, paving the way towards the goals of the CETYS 2036 plan.

“Over time, CETYS presidents have given continuity to significant actions and strategies that have favored the institution. We are moving to a stage of renewal and transformation, where education is facing universities without students, exchanges without mobility, and the need to include relevant actors in higher education. We move forward through this stage, being more assertive, understanding that present difficulties will not necessarily be solved with backward thinking. We are united to do what we do with global quality, to be more resilient, more innovative, more inclusive, focused on the development and success of the student body and the well-being of our societies”.

Dr. León-García highlighted that CETYS currently maintains an enrollment of more than eight thousand students at the undergraduate level, of which around 8% are from schools in the United States. 73% of its full-time faculty have doctoral studies, while 65% of the students who graduate with bachelor’s degrees achieve international experience, and the institution maintains an average employability rate of 95%.

“60 years represent a lifetime of challenges, of goals, of stories. The achievements are innumerable, having more than 45 thousand graduates with a presence in 26 countries, achieving unquestionable national recognition, and having a growing international presence. Becoming a stronghold of the Baja California community that is positioned as a leader in education, being an institution that contributes to making this cross-border region uniquely competitive and attractive for investment, and is the force behind sustainable economic development. This is the impact of CETYS University; it is the dream of our founding fathers realized”, said the Board Chair of IENAC, Gustavo Vildósola-Ramos.

The representative of the Government of Baja California and a CETYS University Alumn, Gerardo Solís-Benavides, highlighted the influence of CETYS in the educational sphere of the region.

«60 years ago, CETYS was founded to provide regional coverage, with new careers and a vision, serving as inspiration for this work that does not stop. We are celebrating 60 years of CETYS; there is not much more to say because CETYS speaks for itself about the fulfillment of its mission”, he said.

Within the framework of the celebrations of the first six decades, various activities and special events were held; this includes the lecture “Education After the Pandemic: Inertia or Transformation” given by Dr. Mariano Jabonero, Secretary of the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science, and Culture (OEI).

Recognitions were awarded to collaborators with a career of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years in CETYS. Other activities were the REDES International Conversatory of Student Leadership Panel, with environmental activist Anuna de Wever as a speaker, and the International Academic Panel by Dr. Fernando León-García, President of CETYS University, Dr. Shawn Chen, Chairman of Sias University in China, and Dr. Fernando Galván-Reula, President Emeritus of the University of Alcalá, Spain.