José F. Méndez Dr.hc

Commission. We also have accreditations from theCommission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education,Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiologyand Speech-Language Pathology, American HealthInformation Management Association, Commissionon Accreditation of Allied Health Education and theJoint Review Committee on Education in RadiologyTechnology.At Universidad del Turabo (UT) we inaugurated thePuerto Rico Energy Center, a teaching and researchfacility focused on sustainable energy sources. Throughthe efforts of our Office of Economic Development andCommercialization, the center will collaborate withthe Puerto Rico Administration for Energy Affairs inestablishing public policy for the use and managementof alternative sources of energy.Additionally, the energy center will expand throughundergraduate and graduate research into renewableenergy sources and the commercialization of newtechnologies. The center is a joint project with INTECO,the first of four initiatives launched by AGMUS thathave evolved into a decentralized, regional model foreconomic development.In expanding health sciences, we inauguratedthe UMET Health Sciences School at Bayamón andestablished a bilingual program leading to a bachelor’sdegree in nursing, breaking new ground in trainingnurses. UNE completed the first phase of a CommunityHealth Promotion Center that will be a communityhealth clinic as well as a teaching and research facility.For UT, we finalized the design of a school of healthsciences that will include a community health centerto provide services to the university community aswell as surrounding towns.At the three universities, we inaugurated wellnesscenters, staffed with physical trainers and nutritioniststo benefit our associates as well as our athletes. This isa relatively new concept in Puerto Rico, not enjoyed byother educational institutions. Part of our purpose isto increase the productivity of our associates and putthem on track to improving their health.We pursue our global goals, moving forwardthe concept of internationalization at each of ourinstitutions, an initiative that dates back to the 1990s.Most recently we laid the groundwork to establish atwo-year community college in the Dominican Republicand to expand our U.S. branch network to Maryland.During the 2009-2010 academic year, we inaugurateda third learning center in Florida in the Tampa Bayarea. These university branches target Hispanicsseeking a college education; our edge is providing anopportunity to enroll in a bilingual program that allowsSpanish speakers to learn English while also learningtheir future profession.15