Dr. Reynaldo L. Martinez Jr., head of the Department of Adult and Career Education at Valdosta State University, accepted an invitation to be a visiting professor at the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, during the fall 2015 semester.
 
Martinez will teach a comparative international technical vocational education and training graduate course. He will also attend faculty meetings and lectures, present guest lectures in various education classes for the Faculty of Humanities and Education and the School of Education on the UWI’s Mona Campus, and conduct research on the Jamaican workforce and the vocational technical leadership system.
 
“I believe that we have many programs…at VSU that could develop some great partnerships with programs at UWI,” said Martinez. “Colleagues [in Jamaica]…want to know the U.S. perspective on different education issues. I hope to have the opportunity to share how we conduct our [Department of] Adult and Career Education degree programs and how we are addressing current challenges. I know from the exchange of ideas we will be able to help each other to meet the needs of our students.”
 
Martinez was invited to teach at the UWI after his department hosted Dr. Halden Morris, a Brown Scholar from the UWI, in the spring.
 
Morris is a member of the UWI’s Faculty of Humanities and Education. While at VSU, he provided guest lectures, participated in the instruction of various ACED graduate and undergraduate classes, and conducted research on the policies, structure, and implementation of the department's online and hybrid graduate programs.
 
“Dr. Morris became interested in coming to VSU after he and I met in 2013 while I was in Jamaica consulting for the University Council of Jamaica…the accrediting body for all Jamaican institutions of higher learning,” shared Martinez. “Dr. Morris was a member of a panel that I interviewed as part of an accrediting visit.”
 
While in Jamaica, Martinez will co-teach a philosophy of technical vocational education and training graduate course with Morris.
 
Martinez hopes to bring back a memorandum of understanding between UWI and VSU that will provide future opportunities for collaborative activities and partnerships between the two universities.