ASU formalized a longstanding collaboration with Aichi Prefectural University in Japan last week, laying the groundwork for exchange programs and a joint graduate program in Mexican archeology, officials said.
The two universities have worked together for 15 years on archeological research in Teotihuacan, Mexico, a site that many consider to contain the most important archeological remains in the country, said Sander Van Der Leeuw, director of the School of Human Evolution and Social Change.
The agreement is intended to expand the collaboration between the schools to include students and additional faculty, said ASU Vice Provost for Global Education Services Kathleen Fairfax.
“We have similar agreements with a number of universities,” she said. “The only thing that’s unusual in this case is [the universities] have worked together for a long, long time. This simply puts it in writing and confirms the two universities are interested in furthering the relationship.”
Fairfax referred to the document as an “umbrella agreement” that does not spell out the terms for any student or faculty exchange or the proposed graduate program, but lays the groundwork for each.
Before either occurs, further agreements will have to be arranged, she said.
Van Der Leeuw said the programs will allow students and research faculty from each institution to travel to the other and to Teotihuacan.
The collaboration between the universities began because of professor Saburo Sugiyama, who teaches at both ASU and APU, Van der Leeuw said.
Sugiyama coordinated a unique project researching Teotihuacan’s Pyramid of the Moon, the second largest pyramid in the ancient city, and brought in assistants from both universities over the years.
“The research we are doing [in Mexico] is very original because Sugiyama has been allowed by the Mexicans to dig tunnels in the biggest monuments in the city,” Van Der Leeuw said. “What he looks for and discovers are the sacrificial burial chambers in the temples where the chiefs [of ancient civilizations] are buried.”
ASU archeology professor and director of the Teotihuacan research center George Cowgill said the agreement will benefit the center immensely.
“The main thing it’s going to mean is much more cooperation with … Aichi Prefectural University,” Cowgill said. “It will greatly benefit the collaboration between the two universities because it will make it more efficient for Japan to contribute to the expense of operating the center.”
The center has recently expanded its excavations to the Sun Pyramid, the largest in the city, a mission the agreement should also benefit, Cowgill said.
Van Der Leeuw said he looks forward to seeing what the partnership will bring to the University.
“From here we can go in many different directions,” he said. “The most important part is that we now have a solid basis for our very, very exciting and innovative research in Mexico.”
Reach the reporter at keshoultz@asu.edu
