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Gift establishes exchange program with universities in Honduras

A gift from Janet Acord, left, has established an exchange program with universities in Honduras. The gift was announced by International Studies Director Dr. Dennis Dunn and Texas State President Dr. Denise Trauth.

A $50,000 gift from Janet Acord of Wimberley has established a student-faculty exchange program with universities in Honduras. Initial efforts will send Texas State graduate students to Honduras to teach English and bring Honduran faculty to Texas State to improve their English skills.

Mrs. Acord requested that the program be named in memory of her mother, Helen Ratliff Cleaves. “My mother grew up in the Rio Grande Valley and in San Antonio and Austin. She graduated in the 1930s from the University of Texas but spent summers attending Texas State, where she enjoyed the classes and swimming in the San Marcos River. She tried her best to make her five children understand the importance of learning Spanish,” said Mrs. Acord, in naming the gift.

Mrs. Acord became interested in helping Hondurans to learn English when she traveled to Honduras with her church—the United Methodist Church in Wimberley—to help in building schools and clinics. She met a Honduran teacher who wanted to learn English and whom she subsequently helped to attend the English as a Second Language program at Texas State.

Mrs. Acord then decided that she would like to continue assisting Hondurans to learn English and that she could best achieve her goal with a university’s help. Through her acquaintance with Dr. Dennis Dunn, Director of Texas State’s Center for International Studies, Mrs. Acord learned that the Center had already established a working model for such outreach activities in the Wilson Endowment for Student/Faculty Exchanges in Asian Studies. Mrs. Acord and Dr. Dunn adjusted the model to fit Honduras, and Mrs. Acord contributed a gift of $50,000 to fund the initial year, 2007-2008. She plans ultimately to set up an endowment to permanently fund the exchange.