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Before a full audience of special guests, CETYS University held its inaugural Town Hall event bringing together academics, business leaders, and philanthropists from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. The gathering, presided over by CETYS University President Dr. Fernando León García, also included members of the CETYS leadership team, the Board of Trustees of Instituto Educativo del Noroeste A.C. (IENAC), and local government representatives.
The event took place at UC San Diego Park & Market in downtown San Diego, where CETYS presented its vision as a strategic partner for the growth of the Cali-Baja megaregion. The university highlighted its role in developing highly competitive human capital, advancing applied research, and building partnerships with industries across the border, as well as its commitment to cultural promotion and humanistic values as drivers of regional understanding and cohesion.
Dr. León noted that CETYS University, accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)—the same agency that accredits UC San Diego and the University of San Diego—remains the only Mexican institution with this distinction. The accreditation, he said, ensures international quality standards for CETYS’s academic programs and graduates.
Richard Kiy, director of the Institute of the Americas at the University of San Diego, praised CETYS’s long-standing service to the region. “CETYS has been a vital institution for the Cali-Baja region for more than 60 years,” Kiy said. “It provides undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education programs that strengthen the regional workforce. The key industries of Baja California are essential to our binational prosperity, from San Diego to El Centro, and CETYS plays a central role in promoting that economic vitality.”
Suzanne Walsh, president of City University of Seattle, emphasized the importance of the 20-year partnership between both institutions through their Mexico-U.S. Dual Degree Program. “This is a great opportunity to celebrate our cross-border connections and explore how we can expand our collaboration to include not only San Diego but also the Pacific Northwest,” Walsh said.
With more than 43,000 alumni, an employability rate above 90 percent, and a strong commitment to international mobility, CETYS continues to strengthen its humanistic and flexible multi-experiential educational model aimed at forming leaders who create sustainable, meaningful impact.
The 2025 Town Hall reinforced CETYS’s ties with alumni and strategic partners in Southern California and promoted binational collaboration in education, innovation, and social progress across one of the world’s most dynamic borders.
