In his early days, he aspired to play professional baseball. But when President Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Republic addressed a capacity audience in Low Library Thursday evening, he directed his remarks toward education and infrastructure.
The School of International and Public Affairs hosted the event as part of the World Leaders Forum, a program that University President Lee Bollinger lauded Thursday night for providing valuable insights into foreign leaders and their nations, and for fostering a “robust debate on global issues.”
As the featured member of a panel discussion introduced by Bollinger and moderated by Fernández aide John Gagain Jr. Accompanied by he First Lady of the Dominican Republic, Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, President Fernandez responded to questions from the audience and comments by Professor Emeritus Ronald Schneider and SIPA Dean John Coatsworth regarding Schneider’s recently published book, Caribbean Crusader: Leonel Fernández and the Transformation of the Dominican Republic.
In his introduction, Schneider presented President Fernández as an energetic and effective leader. He cited excerpts from his book and praised the president as a reformer who stabilized the Dominican currency and led his nation to a period of high economic growth and low inflation by “providing some of the best political leadership in the western hemisphere.”
Responding to a question regarding public education in the Dominican Republic, President Fernández called education “the only way to speed up economic and social progress” and agreed that his government must concern itself with improving the public school system. He cited increases in enrollment, the development of more effective teaching methods, and the integration of new technology as primary goals.
President Fernández referenced a joint education reform program between the Dominican government and the University. The Dominican Republic Education And Mentoring Project—a Columbia affiliate—builds classrooms, trains teachers, and provides essential materials in an attempt to bring education to rural areas of the Dominican Republic.
Most students in attendance expressed interest in Latin American affairs and a desire to learn more about the Dominican Republic and President Fernández. Brendan Hamill, Law ’11, said he attended because he wanted to learn more about leadership and the “progression of developing countries.”
Some students, including Kristina Deoleo, CC ’12, questioned Fernández’s commitment to education reform. Deoleo, a native of the Dominican Republic, said she attended the American School in the capital city, Santo Domingo, because of a lack of reliable public education. Deoleo said that “anyone above middle class does not go to public school because ... some of them don’t even have plumbing.” She cited the vast sum spent on Santo Domingo’s new subway system, more than what was spent on health care and education reform, as examples of errors in judgment of the government. The subway is new and well maintained, she said, but “what’s the point of having a subway if your people aren’t educated?”
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