New Degree Gives Students Understanding of Diverse Cultures

By Victoria Kuntz

UMHB is launching a new degree in Southwest Borderlands Studies that helps distinguish it from other schools and provides new offerings that most schools don’t have yet.

“Very few schools in Texas, and even fewer of our size, have a program such as this,” said Dr. Jacky Dumas, a professor and associate dean for the School of Humanities.

The Southwest Borderlands Studies degree incorporates bilingual com­munication, social relations between diverse Southwest cultures, advocacy, and policy into one degree. It will help students who have an interest in going into a broad range of careers including law enforcement, military, social work, law, education, counseling, forensics, and even ecology.

“Students will deepen their knowl­edge of diverse cultures within both UMHB and the broader community, as well as their understanding of the in­fluence of various waves of migrations both within and outside of the U.S.,” Dumas said.

Students in the new degree plan will also have the opportunity to understand different cultures and how they influence the communities of the Southwest, said Dr. Karla Gonzalez, the associate professor of Spanish at UMHB, who will be teaching various classes on Hispanic culture, history, and language.

Students are also encouraged to take Spanish courses to help understand the people that they will encounter while in their professions. The Southwest Borderlands Studies degree promotes diversity and the education of students on the different problems that the communities of the Southwest face.

"I am excited that students will have the opportunity to connect with other cultures that live within their own community, and also that they will have a broader global vision in serving these communities through their vocation or profession," Gonzalez said.

This degree is very important to UMHB and Texas because it sets the university apart from other universities, Gonzalez said. It also shows the people of Texas that we care about the diverse cultures inside the state and across the Southwest, she added.

"The Southwest Borderlands Studies degree can help bridge gaps in the understanding of Latinx communities," Gonzalez said.