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Chancellor's
Column
This
edition of the AUS News should give a good indication
what
a busy term the fall 2004 semester was. Many factors
contributed to the level of activities, but it was
probably our burgeoning enrollment that was most notable.
With the arrival of a large class of freshmen, we reached
for the first time our projected “steady state” enrollment
of 4,000 students. To meet the needs of this increased
population, we welcomed 36 new faculty members to the
campus and, further, the board has approved an additional
32 positions for fall 2005. Deans are now in the process
of screening candidates for these positions.One of
the most significant actions taken by the Board of
Trustees at its November meeting was to authorize the
administration to modify as necessary our admissions
policies and procedures to maintain our enrollment
at this level. We anticipate that the result will be
increasing admission requirements over the next few
years and that, in turn, should imply that the academic
qualifications of admitted students will continue to
improve.As the university matures, additional opportunities
should present themselves to faculty, as well as to
students. In particular, the university hopes to increase
research opportunities and support. Not only should
this enhance the professional growth and development
of our faculty, it is in line with the goal of the
Founder, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed
Al Qassimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler
of Sharjah, That AUS should play a significant role
in the revitalization of the cultural and intellectual
life of the region.
Dr. Winfred
Thompson
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Sharjah
Ruler inaugurates IASTE Conference
 His
Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi,
Supreme Council Member, Ruler of Sharjah, and Founder
and President of the American University of Sharjah
(AUS), opened the Ninth International Association for
the Study of Traditional Environments (IASTE) Conference
on December 14, 2004 on the AUS campus.The theme of
this year's event was “Post-Traditional Environments
in a Post-Global World.” With more than 130 scholars
and experts from around the world attending the conference,
the event explored the notion of post-traditional environments
as spaces that unsettle the historically developed
or assumed relationship between place and meaning.
Experts from a wide variety of disciplines addressed
this and related issues in paper presentations structured
broadly around three themes: “Post-Traditional
Environments,” “The Post-Global Condition” and “Questioning
and/or Redefining Authenticity.”Scholars from
Harvard University, Princeton University, MIT, Columbia
University and the University of California, Berkeley,
along with others from prestigious universities in
the UK, Portugal, Indonesia, UAE, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon,
India, New Zealand, Australia, Greece, Jordan, Austria,
Canada, Japan, Mexico, Chile, South Africa, Malaysia,
the West Bank, Cyprus and Hong Kong, made presentations
throughout the conference, which ran through December
18.The opening session was addressed by AUS Chancellor
Winfred Thompson; Dr. Nadia Alhasani, AUS Assistant
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Local Conference
Director; Professor Nezar Al Sayyad from the University
of California, Berkeley, Conference Director, and Sheikh
Khaled Al Qassimi, Local Conference Coordinator, and
a graduate of AUS. Professor Al Sayyad is the Chair
of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at UC Berkeley,
the executive director for IASTE, and editor of Traditional
Dwellings and Settlements Review. He has authored and
edited several books, including Muslim Europe or Euro-Islam
(2002), The End of Tradition (2004) and Urban Informality
(2004). He has also produced and directed two public
television documentaries. He is the recipient of numerous
awards including the Pioneer American Society Book
Award, the Beit Al Qur'an Medal in Bahrain, the American
Institute of Architects Education Honors, as well as
grants from the Getty Grant Program, NEA Design Arts
Program, the Graham Foundation, and the U.S. Department
of Education. His research interests include traditional
environments, housing in the Arab world, computer simulation
of medieval cities, hybrid places and the new global
urban history.The first plenary session on the opening
day was addressed by Dr. Howayda Al-Harithy and Dr.
M. Christine Boyer. The second plenary session was
held on December 15. Renowned experts Peter Marcuse
and C. Grieg Crysler delivered their presentations
during the session.The ninth IASTE conference was sponsored
by AUS and the College of Environmental Design at the
University of California, Berkeley.
Students
pay tribute to Sheikh Zayed
 As
a tribute to Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the
students of the American University of Sharjah (AUS)
have erected one of the largest mosaic portraits in
the Emirates on campus. The 6.8 x 6.8 m2 portrait of
the late UAE president is made up of 1,600 small images
of His Highness. Each single image represents a particular
time and moment in the life of Sheikh Zayed; together,
however, they form a large mosaic portrait that makes
an overwhelming impact upon the viewer.Arranged by
the AUS Emarati Cultural Club (ECC) under the supervision
of the AUS Student Activities Department and with great
assistance from the AUS Physical Plant Department,
the portrait has been put up just outside the main
entrance of the AUS Main Building and is attracting
a large crowd from the campus community. The portrait
will be placed in different locations around the campus
in the coming weeks.“This is a small contribution
from the Emarati Club to the citizens of the UAE. It
expresses our love and respect for Sheikh Zayed,” said
Ibrahim Al Mayahi, ECC President.The portrait is one
of the many tributes paid to Sheikh Zayed by the AUS
community in recent weeks. A special commemoration
entitled “A Moment of Silence,” was organized
earlier this month in the Student Center. The event
comprised a poetry recitation by Saud Al Kaabi, an
Intensive English Program student; a slide show presentation
on the life of the late ruler; and a moment of silence.
The event was attended by AUS Chancellor Winfred Thompson,
along with the vice chancellors, deans, faculty members,
staff and students.The memorial events concluded with
a football tournament, entitled “Zayed the Benevolent,” held
on December 21 at the AUS Sports Complex. Eight student
teams sporting black armbands and wearing t-shirts
bearing the image of the late ruler participated in
the tournament, at the conclusion of which songs in
praise of Sheikh Zayed were played.
AUS is accredited in the United
States of America (USA) by the Commission on Higher
Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges
and Schools, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
19104, USA - Tel: (215) 662-5606. AUS is licensed
in the USA by the Department of Education of the
State of Delaware. AUS is also licensed and accredited
by the Ministry of Education in the United Arab Emirates.
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AUS doubles spending on
academic research
As an indication of its increased commitment to supporting faculty
research, AUS has almost doubled its spending on academic research
for this fiscal year.The university has also established a new
faculty research fund called Special Competition for New Faculty
and Seed Grants (See related box story).
This research fund will further encourage and support newly hired faculty members
in developing their research programs. “AUS funding for faculty research
grants has almost doubled this year to about half a million dirhams,” said
Chancellor Winfred Thompson.
“This increase reflects the importance the university places on encouraging,
sustaining and conducting serious academic research by our highly qualified and
experienced faculty members.”
Forty-two research grants were competitively awarded this year. Research proposals
are evaluated by faculty peers who are experienced researchers and who have
been awarded grants from prestigious external funding agencies. AUS faculty
members conduct international-level research, scholarship and creative endeavors
in all disciplines taught at the university.
Significantly, faculty research also focuses on issues and problems of importance
to the Gulf region in general and Sharjah and the Emirates in particular.As
a reflection of the importance given to research at AUS, Chancellor Thompson
also announced earlier this semester the appointment of Dr. Judith Killen as
Director of Graduate Studies and Research.
Dr. Killen is responsible for developing the graduate programs and research
agenda of the university.Dr. Killen holds a PhD in English Literature from
the University of Louisville. Before joining AUS, Dr. Killen was the Director,
Program Development, at Pact Inc. in Washington, DC.
As a member of the senior management team, she led Pact in raising $160 million
in new program funding, the largest annual increase in that institution's history.
She was also Director, Research Development, at Syracuse University in the
US and Director of Program Development at ICRAF, a member of the consultation
group of International Agricultural Research Centers based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Dr. Killen has 15 years of international work experience in North and South
America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Winners of the AUS Seed
Grant Competition
The University Research Committee, along with the Vice
Chancellor For Academic Affairs, recently announced the
winners of the AUS Seed Grant Competition. Congratulations
to the following faculty members:
College
of Arts & Sciences
- Marina Dodigovic
(Languages), The Efficiency of Error Correction in Second
Language Learning:
An Artificial
Intelligence Perspective
- Cyntia Espada-Jallad (Biology & Chemistry), Characterization of Aerosol
Particles in the Sharjah Area
- Karim Jallad (Biology & Chemistry), Determination of Methymercury
and Chloramphenicol in Biological Materials: Methods Development
- Fawwaz Jumean (Biology & Chemistry), Calorimetric Investigations of
Biological Buffers in Mixed Solvent Systems
School of
Architecture & Design
- •David Hewitt
(Design), Painting Landscapes in a Political World
- Bruce Lonnman (Design), Research and Exhibition of Construction
Drawings
School of Business & Management
- Jorg Bley (Accounting & Finance), European
Stock Market Integration: Fact or Fiction?
- Moshen Saad (Accounting & Finance), Making Many Markets
- Osamah Al-Khazali (Accounting & Finance), Testing the Asset Pricing
Theories of the Gulf Stock Markets
- Minsoo Lee (Economics), Assessment
of Economic Effects on South Korea of China's Accession to WTO
Schol of Engineering
- •Fadi Aloul (Computer Engineering),
Dynamic Symmetry Breaking for Boolean Satisfiability
- Ibrahim Deiab (Mechanical Engineering), Experimental
Investigation of Tool Flank Wear Rate in Machining of
Metal Matrices
- Assim Sagahyroon (Computer Engineering), Wireless Monitoring
of Civil Structures
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Four-year
contracts awarded
The November Board of Trustees meeting announced
four-year rolling contracts for the following faculty members:
College of Arts and Sciences
Mr. Edward Carlstedt, Instructor in IEP
Dr. Said Faiq, Associate Professor of English
Dr. Nawar Golley, Assistant Professor of English
Dr. Cindy Gunn, Assistant Professor of English
Mr. Chris Horger, Instructor of English Writing
Dr. Mahboub Hashem, Professor of Mass Communications
Dr. Rodney Tyson, Associate Professor of English
Ms. Krystie Wills, Instructor in IEP
Dr. Larry Woods, Professor of International Studies
School of Architecture and Design
Mr. George Katodrytis, Assistant Professor of Architecture
Mr. Chris Kienke, Assistant Professor of Foundations
Mr. Mark Pilkington, Assistant Professor of Design
School of Business and Management
Dr. Bassam Abu Al-Foul, Assistant Professor of Economics
Dr. Peter Mitias, Associate Professor of Economics
Dr. Hugo Toledo, Assistant Professor of Economics
School of Engineering
Dr. Rana Ahmed, Associate Professor of Computer Engineering
Dr. Saad Ahmed, Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Dr. Gerassimos Barlas, Associate Professor of Computer Science
Dr. Khaled El Fakih, Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Dr. Taleb Ibrahim, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Tarek Ozkul, Associate Professor of Computer Engineering
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BOT approves adjustments in staff housing allowances
In its November meeting held in London, the AUS Board
of Trustees (BOT) approved adjustments in staff housing allowances
and set tuition levels for the 2005-2006 academic year. Chaired by
His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, Member of
the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah and Founder and President of
AUS, the board reviewed a report by Mr. Hamid Jafar, Chairman of
the Finance Committee, dealing with these issues.The board also approved
increasing the percentage of university resources allocated to financial
aid packages for students as well as increasing residential hall
fees.
Dr. Benjamin Ladner, Chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee, presented
to the board a roster of faculty members approved for four-year contracts and
discussed modifications to degree programs planned by the administration. The
board also discussed progress in the universitys accreditation visits from
the UAE Commission for Academic Accreditation of the Ministry of Education.“His
Highness the Ruler of Sharjah congratulated the faculty, staff, and management
for the university's rapid growth and for the academic reputation AUS has earned
in the region,” said Chancellor Winfred Thompson.
In other business, the board discussed modifications in admission requirements
now that the university has reached the anticipated enrollment level of 4,000
students. The next meeting of the board is scheduled for February 20, 2005,
to be held on campus.Other board members in attendance were Mr. Hamid Jafar
of Sharjah; Dr. Benjamin Ladner of Washington, D.C.; Ms. Leslie Bains of New
Jersey; Sir Alec Broers of London; Mr. Art Downey of Maryland; Mr. John Petty
of Virginia; and Chancellor Thompson. Staff members in attendance were Dr.
Sallie Sheppard, Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs; Mr. George DeBin,
Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration; and Ms. Lena Hadajian, Board
Secretary.
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German mayor leads team visit
Mr.
Rolf Schnellecke, Mayor of Wolfsburg, Germany, headed
a team of delegates that met with Chancellor Winfred Thompson
on
campus on October 2.
Dr. Thompson briefed the mayor and his
team on the university's undergraduate and graduate academic
programs. He informed
them of the on-campus facilities,
including the state-of-the-art teaching aids and laboratories. Dr.
Thompson also briefed the visitors on the tremendous success
achieved by the university
since its inception and updated them on its current and future plans.
Mr. Salem Al Qaseer, Vice Chancellor for
Public Affairs, was also present at the meeting.
The visitors praised the quality education provided by AUS and applauded
the enviable reputation it has earned throughout the region in such
a short span of time.
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Al
Qaseer and Al Shehhi promoted
Mr. Salem Yousef Al Qaseer and Dr. Moza Al
Shehhi have been promoted to the posts of vice chancellors.
Mr.
Al Qaseer, who joined AUS in 1997, was promoted to Vice
Chancellor for Public Affairs while Dr. Moza Al Shehhi, who
joined the university in 1999, became the Vice Chancellor for
Student
Affairs.
“Their university experience and their personal knowledge
of local culture make them crucial to the smooth functioning
of the institution and invaluable to those of us who come here
from outside the country and region,” said Chancellor Winfred
Thompson. Mr. Al Qaseer and Dr. Al Shehhi are both UAE nationals.
Dr. Thompson added that these promotions come within the strategy
of the university to make the Office of Public Affairs (OPA)
and the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) even more dynamic and
active.
Dr. Thompson said that Mr. Al Qaseer is entrusted with the mission
of further developing and expanding the OPA and its two constituent
components, the Public Relations Department and the Media and
Printing Department. Mr. Salem Al Qaseer has over 25 years experience
in the field of public affairs in institutions of higher learning
in the UAE. Prior to joining AUS, he was Assistant to the Vice
Chancellor for Community Services at UAE University, Al Ain.
Dr. Moza Al Shehhi is responsible for further enhancing and
developing the rich multicultural campus life at AUS and providing
the students with a healthy, supportive and encouraging environment
that is in tune with the norms and cultural traditions of the
UAE. Dr. Al Shehhi holds a doctorate in demographic statistics
from City University, UK. Prior to joining AUS, she spent 24
years in various senior positions at the UAE Ministry of Education.
Enrollment
tops 4,000 mark With a significant increase in the number
of students this fall, AUS passed its target enrollment
of 4,000 students for the first time. The new figure
for the total student body this semeseter, including
graduate students, stood at 4,116. Sixty percent of the
student population is male and 40 percent is female.
“We attribute our enrollment to
the university's growing reputation as a leader in quality
higher education in the Gulf region,” AUS Chancellor
Winfred Thompson said. “The speed with which the
founder of AUS, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed
Al Qassimi, translated his vision of a new kind of university
into the reality of our magnificent campus has already
become a source of great admiration and respect around
the region,” he added.
UAE nationals continue to make up the
largest percentage (20) of students on campus. Other
nations represented in the 10 most populous nationalities
on campus are Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Iran,
Syria, India, Pakistan, Egypt and Lebanon. Nearly 70
nationalities are represented in the student body.
Of 4,116 students enrolled this fall,
1,348 are in the School of Engineering, 1,166 are in
the School of Business and Management, 531 are in the
College of Arts and Sciences, 526 are in the School of
Architecture and Design, and 317 are in the Intensive
English Program.
Approximately 2,376 students are living
on campus this year, compared to 1,651 last year.
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CTELT
conference returns to campus
The Eighth Annual Current Trends in English
Language Testing (CTELT) Conference was held December
8-9 at AUS. This was the second consecutive year that
AUS held this major event.
 AUS
Chancellor Winfred Thompson welcomed the delegates in
his opening address. He appreciated the importance and
aims of the conference and said that AUS was very pleased
to be associated with the event.The theme of this year's
conference, also hosted by Dubai Men's College and Zayed
University, was “Assessing the Skill Areas.” Along
with Dr. Christine Coombe, Conference Chair, the opening
session was also addressed by senior officials from the
two institutions.
“The annual CTELT Conference has
put the UAE on the worldwide testing map as a place where
education and language testing are important issues at
all levels. The plenary speakers and the presenters alike
share valuable knowledge with all of us, from the experienced
tester down to the delegate with little or no knowledge
of such issues. More than any other CTELT Conference,
this event provides ʻgrassroots' sessions to participants,
so they can take away much more than a few handouts and
some new ideas,” said Ms. Coombe.
She said that the goals of the conference
are threefold. First, the organizers want to bring together
testing specialists and teachers from different institutions
to share findings and information that have important
implications for the region. Secondly, the event provides
a forum for current research on language teaching and
testing. And finally, delegates have an arena for discussion
and debate on important issues in English language testing
theory, practice and research.The two-day event attracted
great interest from the GCC region, with more than 600
delegates registering for the conference.
Dr. John Read from
the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies,
Victoria University of
Wellington, New Zealand, delivered the first plenary
address, entitled “Words and How To Use Them: A
Language Tester's View.” In the next session of
the day, Dr. Barry O'Sullivan of the University of Surrey
Roehampton, UK, spoke on “Training Raters for Tests
of Speaking and Writing.” The second day of the
event featured plenary presentations by Dr. Antony Kunnan
from California State University, Los Angeles, USA, and
Dr. Annie Brown from the University of Melbourne, Australia.
In addition to these plenary speeches,
more than 40 parallel presentations were scheduled throughout
the conference.
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| Students elect representatives
Turki Al Yahya was elected to the office
of president in this year's Student Council elections.
A fair number of students turned out
to vote for their candidates during the day-long election
held at the Student Center. A majority of the voters saw
the elections as a vital part of student life and expressed
their support and encouragement for the process.
AUS has
always been very eager
to promote student participation and government on campus
and the council elections are a reflection of that support
and interest,” said Dr. Moza Al Shehhi, Vice Chancellor
of Student Affairs. “We encourage all our students
to play an active role in campus life,” she added. Students declared winners for their respective
posts on the Student Council are as follows:
- President: Turki Al Yahya
- Vice President: Omar Al Barghouti
- Vice President for Public Relations: Marwa Abboud
- Treasurer: Mohsen Mofid
- Secretary: Shaikha Al Bannay
- Activities Coordinator: Moiz Ul Haq
- Communication and Media Coordinator: Zeina Barhoum
- Athletics Coordinator: Yousef Abdul Rahman Fakhroo
- College of Arts and Science: Talal Al Shehail
- School of Architecture and Design: Abdullah Al Shami
- School of Business and Management: Fadi El Masri
- School of Engineering: Mohammed Abu Jayyab
- Intensive English Program: Osama A. Metwaly
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Hamza Yusuf lectures at AUS
Renowned American Islamic
scholar and writer Hamza Yusuf delivered the lecture “Our Humanity in the Balance” in
the AUS Main Auditorium in October.
The event was part of the Ramadan Lecture Series
held under the patronage of His Highness the President of the
UAE and was open to the general public.
Hamza Yusuf is well known worldwide for his scholarship
and work on Islam. He has lectured extensively, been interviewed
on international television news channels and written for a wide
array of international publications.
Born in Washington State,
Hamza Yusuf grew up in Northern California. In 1977, he became
a Muslim and subsequently
traveled to the Muslim world –specifically, the UAE, Saudi
Arabia, and North and West Africa – where he studied for
10 years. He received teaching licenses in various Islamic subjects
from several well-known scholars. After a decade of studying
abroad, he returned to the US and earned degrees in religious
studies and health care.
Hamza Yusuf is the founder of the Zaytuna Institute,
an organization dedicated to the revival of traditional study
methods and the sciences in Islam. He is also the first American
scholar to teach at Morocco's oldest and most prestigious university,
Kairoiuin, in Fez. He has translated several classical Arabic
traditional texts and poems into modern English.
On November 1, another renowned
Islamic scholar delivered a lecture on campus as part of the
Ramadan lecture
series. Al Sheikh Al Arabi Al Kashat, Director of the Social
and Cultural Center of the Da'wah Mosque in Paris, delivered
a lecture entitled. From Clash of Civilization to Cultural
Dialogue” in the Main Auditorium.
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| AUS recognizes
386 outstanding students
 The
American University of Sharjah (AUS) honored 386 of its most
distinguished students at the Seventh Honors Convocation 2004
held this semester.
The convocation, one of the most prestigious and important events
on the AUS calendar, recognized the achievements of students
who had had a grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or higher and
were in the top 10 percent of their college/school.
Speaking on the occasion, Chancellor
Winfred Thompson congratulated the students on their success. “Tonight
we recognize those of our students who during the past academic
year demonstrated
exceptional commitment to their academic goals and success in
meeting the high standards and expectations of the American University
of Sharjah, You should be proud of your personal achievements,” he
said addressing the students, “and I know that your parents
and families are exceptionally proud as well.
Dedication is a tool, not a goal. Dedication is at least as
important as knowledge, and, as Einstein said, creativity may
be even more so. Moreover, honesty, integrity and compassion
must go hand in hand with intellectual attainment. I hope that
you will strive to exemplify all these qualities in all that
you do.
“You represent the very best - you are the very best of
what the American University of Sharjah represents,” said
Dr. Thompson.
The ceremony was attended by senior AUS officials including
Dr. Sallie Sheppard, Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs;
Mr. Salem Al Qaseer, Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs; Dr.
Moza Al Shehhi, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs; the deans,
faculty members; students; and their families and friends.
Out of the 386 students honored at the convocation, 143 belonged
to the School of Business and Management, 131 to the School of
Engineering, 73 to the College of Arts and Sciences, and 39 to
the School of Architecture and Design.
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Youth visit AUS
 More
than 100 members of the Fifth Sharjah Forum for Arab Youth
visited AUS on November 23. The delegates, accompanied by Sharjah
government officials, met with senior AUS officials and toured
the campus.
The delegates were received by Mr. Salem
Al Qaseer, Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs, who briefed
them on the university's undergraduate and graduate academic
programs. He also spoke on the tremendous success achieved
by the university and updated them on its current and future
plans.
With “Changes Facing the Youth,” as
its theme, the forum was held November 21-25 under the patronage
of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi,
Member of the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah, and Founder
and President of AUS.
Mr. Munketh Taha, Assistant to the Vice Chancellor
for Student Affairs, accompanied the delegation on its campus
tour.
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department has active semester
The AUS Department of International
Studies (IS) sponsored a “Partnership in Education
Week” which ran from December 13 through 16.
Multiple events were organized during the week by
the department's faculty and students. These includes
a seminar on experiential education by Elizabeth
Baker from the Albany New York Free School; a lecture
on the developments of human rights in the GCC by
Dr. Mohammed Al Roken, Chair of the Jurists Association
of the UAE, and Chair of the UAE Society of Human
Rights; a seminar by Dr. Annie Montiny from the French
Museum of Natural History on “Oral Traditions
in the Gulf,” as well as a lecture on “Translation
and Culture” by Dr. Roger Allen, Director of
the Huntsman Program in International Studies and
Business at the University of Pennsylvania. The events
concluded with a field trip to the Dubai TV.
The IS faculty and students recently
inaugurated the Student/Faculty Lounge with a gala
dinner held in the gallery of the IS department.
The dinner was attended by Chancellor Thompson, Vice
Chancellor Sheppard, Dean and Mrs. Cook, the entire
IS faculty as well as 45 IS students. The new IS
Faculty/Student Gallery exhibits a series of timeless
quotes from the great thinkers of the academy. The
framed posters were designed by AUS alumna Rola Faour.
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SBM alumni
awarded graduate scholarships
Mohammed Al Huraimel and Mahir Khansaheb,
two graduates of the AUS School of Business and Management
(SBM) have begun Master of Business Administration (MBA)
programs in France after receiving scholarships from Total.
Mr. Al Huraimel and Mr. Khansaheb are the
first graduates of AUS to be awarded the scholarship. The
Total scholarship program is part of the company's commitment
to help foster development in countries in which they operate.
Since graduating from AUS three years ago,
Mr. Al Huraimel has been working as a marketing planning
manager at General Motors in Dubai covering the African and
Middle Eastern regions. He is attending the 16-month MBA
program at the prestigious Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC)
School of Management, which was established in the late 1800s
and is located outside Paris.
Mr. Khansaheb, who graduated last spring
from AUS, is attending ESC University in the south of France.
The MBA program at ESC is especially designed for students
who have not yet entered the workplace. The program includes
three months of studying the French language and culture,
as well as 12 months of MBA courses and a six-month internship.
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| Arabic
poetry evening
Held under the patronage of His Excellency
Dr. Ali A. Al Shahan, Minister of Youth and Education
and Chairman of the General Authority of Youth and Sports,
the First GCC Youth Festival for Art and Literature held
a delightful evening of Arabic poetry in October.
Organized by the Office of Student
Affairs and Emirates Club, a poetry night was held for
the popular Arab poet Anwar Al Mushaeri in the AUS Main
Auditorium.
The event attracted a large number
of students and faculty members.
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Dutch TV features AUS professor
A film crew from the Netherland's VPRO Television flew down
to Sharjah to do a documentary on Associate Professor of Photography
Tarek Al Ghoussein and his work. The documentary was part of
the network's RAM cultural series that aired on October 17.
Mr. Al Ghoussein's photograph Selfportrait 6 attracted the attention
of the network when it appeared with a Dutch newspaper article
about the annual Nooderlicht Photofestival 2004. Mr. Al Ghoussein
was among a select group of international artists from around
the world whose work was selected for exhibition at this prestigious
event.
The crew spent four days with Mr. Al
Ghoussein in Sharjah, filming him in the city, at home, and
teaching and working with his students
on campus. The film discusses the content and meaning of Selfportrait
6 as well as questions about fear and prejudice in both the West
and the Middle East.In the current global environment, the concept
of identity and perception, the theme of Mr. Al Ghoussein's featured
series of photographs, is quite relevant. “My pictures
challenge the conventional Western stereotype of Palestinians,” he
said, “which mostly revolves around the image of the Palestinian
as terrorist.”
Mr. Al Ghoussein has been teaching in
SA&D since 1997 and
is very pleased with the quality of work done by his students. “I
am proud of my students. They are very bright and can compare
with the best anywhere in the world. In fact, the Dutch film
crew was very impressed by their creativity and commitment in
class, as it was with the environment and facilities at AUS,” he
added.
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AUS teams shine
in IAA InterAd competition
Two teams of AUS advertising students won honors at
the International Advertising Association (IAA) InterAd
VIII Regional Competition in the summer. Part of the
MCM 455 Advertising Campaigns course taught by Assistant
Professor Dr. Samuel Tesunbi, this was the first time
that any AUS team participated in this competition.
Calling themselves Al Jood Advertising Agency, the team
of Eman Moharrak, Fatema Fakhraldeen, Majeda Alhusain,
Maryam Alkhatrash, Raghad Almusallam and Zaina Taboob
won second place in the competition. The team Mirage
Advertising Agency won third place. Its members were
Yousra El-Kerek, Anes Al Rayes, Amira Al Najjar, Sara
Fahim, Nada Akil Zaman, Rasha Sadek and Loubna Al Khunji.
InterAd is the IAA's annual student advertising competition,
which provides hands-on marketing communications experience
for university students from around the world.
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Cover success
A book cover designed by Ahmed Faour,
a student of the School of Architecture and Design (SA&D),
has been selected by an international book publishing
company. Mr. Faour's cover design won over three others
solicited by the publishers for AUS professor Dr. Said
Faiq's new book entitled Cultural Encounters in Translation
from Arabic.
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SA&D students
win top honors at lbda's awards
Students of the School
of Architecture and Design (SA&D) once again
won accolades for their work at the Ibda'a Media
Student Awards 2004 held at
the Dubai Media City Amphitheatre recently.
Yasmin Mohammed won first
prize for her work in the Digital Photography
category. SA&D students
have won this particular category of the awards
for the past three years.
In addition, graduate Lamya Gargash received a
special award for the incredible feat of winning
in the photography category last year and reaching
the finalist stage in the full-length film category
this year. Lamya's film was also screened at the
recently held Dubai International Film Festival.
Students from 26 countries
submitted 2,013 entries at the awards, with AUS
students, once again, among
the best. The following SA&D students were
declared finalists in their respective categories:
TV Advertising: Aisha Al Qassimi and Dareen Al
Sarraj
Film: Lamya Gargash
Digital Photography: Shanny Sahni, Yasmin Mohammed
and Sheikha Bin Daher
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| Faculty & Staff
Achievements
Tarek Al Ghoussein (Photography)
participated in two international exhibitions recently.
He was among five other artists whose work was displayed
at an exhibition in Denmark held in conjunction with the
Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Mr. Al Ghoussein's
work was also displayed at the prestigious Nooderlicht
Photofestival 2004 in the Netherlands. He was among a select
group of international artists chosen for the exhibition.
Dr. Muhsin Al-Musawi (Arabic
and International Studies) has been appointed as the new
executive editor of the prestigious Journal of Arabic Literature.
The author of 24 books and over 60 scholarly articles,
Professor Al-Musawi is an internationally renowned scholar
and literary critic with over 20 years' experience teaching
at a number of institutions in the Middle East and the
West. Described by The Chronicle of Higher Education as “one
of the Arab world's leading literary critics,” Professor
Al-Musawi's teaching and research interests span several
periods and genres.
Karl Byas (IT Administrator,
SA&D) and Breandan Dezendorf (Network Engineer, AUS
IT) presented the paper “Server Monitoring Using
SNMP” at the Mac OS X Conference held October 25,
28 in Santa Clara, California. The presentation discussed
how to monitor and administer a complex server environment
using open source (free) software instead of expensive
purchased solutions.
A book edited by Dr. Said Faiq (English & Translation
Studies) was published by Multilingual Matters. The volume,
entitled Cultural Encounters in Translation from Arabic,
explores theories and examples of translation from Arabic
into Western languages, an activity that has not managed
to improve intercultural relations and is still generally
influenced by negative stereotypes. Commenting on the book,
Marilyn Gaddis Rose, Distinguished Service Professor, State
University of New York at Binghamton (USA), wrote, “Everyone
should read these iconoclastic essays, which give the discipline
a needed jolt from the smugness of foreignizing.” (See
box story)
Dr. Mahboub Hashem (Mass
Communication) has been appointed to the advisory board
of the prestigious Global Media Journal (GMJ), which is
published in Arabic. He has also published a chapter entitled “War
on Iraq and Media Coverage: A Middle Eastern Perspective,” in
Yahya R. Kamalipour and Nancy Snow's book War, Media and
Propaganda (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004). Dr. Hashem
also presented the paper “Creating Sustainable Excellence
through Promoting Leadership Communication Competence” at
the Ninth World Congress for Total Quality Management held
in Abu Dhabi.
Muqeem Khan (Digital Design)
presented the paper “Science, Technology and Education
in Arts and Design as Globalizing force” at the seminar “Digital
Divide and its Impact on Global Peace” at the NWFP
University of Engineering Technology in Peshawar, Pakistan,
on December 1. He also recently presented two day-long
seminars in Karachi and Lahore, Pakistan, on in-depth analysis
of teaching methodologies used in creating animation as
well as marketing techniques employed in the field internationally.
The seminars were organized by the Pakistan Ministry of
Information and Technology and the Pakistan Software Export
Board. Mr. Khan and Dr. Ahmed Mokhtar (Architecture)
also completed their research on the visualization of air
circulation for virtual models. The outcome of the research
was a virtual tunnel in which architecture and design students
can place their models and analyze the orientation of a
building or an object. Subsequently, Mr. Khan presented
a paper entitled “Education-Oriented Visualization
Model for Buildings Cross Ventilation” at the GRAPHITE
2004 International Conference on Computer Graphics in Singapore.
As part of the interdisciplinary lecture
series in Middle Eastern Studies, Dr. Nada Mourtada-Sabbah (International
Studies) was invited by the University of California at
Berkeley to give a lecture on “Cultural Syncretism,
Globalism and Traditionalism in the Arabian Gulf” on
December 2 at UC Berkeley.
For the eighth year in a row, the
Journal of Systems and Software in its annual assessment
of top scholars and institutions ranked Dr. Kassem
Saleh (Computer Science) among the top eight
scholars in the field of systems and software engineering.
This ranking is based on the number of papers published
in six top journals in the field over a sliding window
of five years. Professor Saleh also presented a paper
at the 2004 International Research Conference on Innovations
in Information Technology held in Dubai October 4, 6.
The paper, which received the Best Paper Award, was co-authored
with Alia Al-Zarouni, a 2004 AUS computer science graduate.
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| AUS takes on minirobot soccer world champions
in thrilling contest |
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| An exciting and unique contest between minirobot soccer teams from the AUS and Vienna Technical University, Austria, was held on December 13 in the Rotunda of the Main Building on campus.
The hard-fought match was attended by a large crowd comprising students, faculty and staff members. The Austrian team, who are the reigning world champions, emerged victorious in the thrilling contest. It has won the world title on a previous occasion as well.
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| This was the AUS team's first foray into the world of competitive
minirobot soccer contests. The team, which comprised a number
of undergraduate and graduate students from the School of Engineering,
plans to participate in local, regional and international robot
soccer championships in the future. Several robot soccer competitions
are organized every year by the Federation of International Robot
Soccer Association (FIRA).
Robot soccer is geared toward developing
multi-agent cooperative autonomous systems. It has all elements
of state-of-the-art
mechatronics systems such as embedded systems, intelligent
systems, real-time control, behavior control, hybrid dynamic
systems and wireless sensor networking.
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| SBM students visit European multinationals
 Students
from the School of Business and Management (SBM) visited
the headquarters of major international companies and organizations
in Germany and Switzerland as part of a summer study tour.
The group of 29 students met senior representatives of major global
organizations such Audi, Siemens, Lindt, Credit Suisse, Nestle,
Chopard, the United Nations, Swiss Tourist Bureau and the Red Crescent/Red
Cross. The students learned how major multinationals tailor their
products to the demands and preferences of different regions. This
helped them understand how the concepts they had studied in their
international marketing and consumer behavior courses were applied
in the real world. The students will now visit the local offices
of the companies they visited during their tour to see the difference
between corporate strategies used in Germany and Switzerland and
the UAE.
| Reinventing Dubai
Dr. Amer Mustafa,
Associate Professor of Architecture and Associate
Dean of SA&D, presented
the lecture “Reinventing Dubai: Architecture,
Urbanism, and the Global Epoch” on October
4.
The lecture was part of the Median
Forum series organized by the AUS Institute for Urban
and Regional Planning and Design (IURPD).
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It was an amazing experience. We got to see first-hand
how major multinationals devise corporate strategies for
different markets. What we learned on the trip supplemented
what we had studied in the classroom,” said Ahmad Hamadeh,
a marketing and management major.
The students also visited major cultural and tourist sites
such as the Deutschland Museum, Neuschwanstein Castle, Linderhof
Castle and the highest point in Europe, the Jungfrau Mountain.
The trip was organized by Carol Houser, Director of Community
Relations at SBM
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Commendable performance
 A
team from AUS took part in the recently held Seventh ACM Arab
and North Africa Regional Programming Contest in Kuwait. Team
Abacus, consisting of computer science major Mohamad Hazem Taji
and computer engineering majors Wasseim Zouabi and Hasan Mohsen,
won a commendable eighth place out of 35 teams from 11 different
countries that participated in the contest. Abacus was the highest
ranked team among all the other teams participating from the
UAE. The team was coached by Dr. Kassem Saleh from the Department
of Computer Science and Dr. Ghassan Qadah from the Department
of Computer Engineering.
| International acclaim for SA&D
Amin Al Saden, a magna cum laude graduate
of the AUS Class of 2004, was declared one of the four
finalists in the Aspiring Architect (students) Category
of the prestigious international Architecture + Awards
2004. His work was selected by members of the academic
jury in a blind review.
Mr. Al Saden's winning
entry was a fifth-year project supervised in the studio
by professors George Katodrytis
and Eirik Heintz of the School of Architecture and Design
(SA&D).
The four finalists were:
- A Place Re-Instated By Yu Ka Sing, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Islamic Cultural Centre By Alan Kueh, RMIT University,
Australia
- Psychiatric Clinic Resort and Hair Salon By Amin Al
Saden, American University of Sharjah, UAE
- The Future of Heritage in the Post-Globalization Era
By Hussam Salama, University of Southern California,
USA
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SBM students host successful reception
 The
School of Business and Management (SBM) held its annual business
reception earlier this semester. Organized by the Business Student
Committee (BCS), the reception was attended by distinguished
guests from diplomatic missions, multinational companies, faculty,
students and their family members.
Carol Houser, SBM Director of Community Relations;
Emad Siddiqui, BSC President; and other BSC officials and students
made presentations on the group's various activities. Students
who participated in the Summer 2004 Germany-Switzerland Study Tour
also gave a presentation, followed by an engaging video directed
by student Fawaz Al Sheikh.
Muna Al Nuaimi, winner of this year's American
Business Council (ABC) scholarship, was presented with the award
by Phil Garrison, the President of ABC.
| SA&D graduate wins design prize
Nahrin M. Oda, a graduate
of the School of Architecture and Design (SA&D), won
second prize in a jewellery design competition held by
Lazurdy Group
and sponsored by Future TV.
Ms. Oda currently works as a project executive
for Pico International, Dubai. Her design was selected
from among 7,000 entries sent into the competition. A gala
awards ceremony was held in Egypt for all the winners.
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US Ambassador visits campus
by Usman Musa, Leopard reporter
The American ambassador to the UAE, Ms. Sison Michelle, made her
first visit to AUS on December 7. Accompanied by Mr. Jason Davis,
Consul General of the Consulate General of the United States in
Dubai. The ambassador was received by Chancellor Winfred Thompson
and Mr. Salem Al Qaseer, Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs, along
with senior university officials.
At a reception and lunch
held in her honor in the Main Building, the ambassador met with
AUS staff
and faculty members. “This
is my first visit to AUS and I am glad to see that such a wonderful
and diverse community is gathered here. AUS is a ground-breaking
experiment, bringing different cultures and societies together
on one campus,” she said. “My visit, although brief,
has been truly inspiring. With 70 nationalities working and living
together in harmony on this beautiful campus, it makes me proud
to see the American model of education working so successfully
here in Sharjah.”
When asked how AUS compared to universities
in the US, Consul General Davis said, “From what I see,
I think AUS can hold its own when compared to any university
in the world. The best
thing about this university is that it allows those students
who cannot study in the US to gain that experience here in an
environment that's just as diverse and conducive to learning
as any university abroad.”
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Ninth Blood Donation campaign held on campus
The Ninth AUS Blood Donation Campaign, organized by the University
Health Center and the Office of Student Affairs in co-operation
with the Sharjah Ministry of Health, was held at the health center
last month.
The campaign elicited a good response from students, faculty,
staff, and other members of the AUS campus community. A strong
sense of genuine goodwill and commitment to the drive could be
seen among those in crowd as they waited their turn to donate.
“It only takes a few minutes to donate blood. But for
someone in need, these minutes might mean the difference between
life and death. I feel we should try and do all we can do help
this campaign,” said a student donor.
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| Babayan
presents concert
Armenian pianist Naira Babayan presented a concert on
December 15 in the Main Auditorium on campus. The program
included works by Chopin, Liszt, Khatchaturyan, Debussy
and Rachmaninoff.
This was Ms. Babayan's third performance at AUS. She
has given numerous recitals in Armenia, including performances
at the Armenian State Philharmonic Orchestra Auditorium.
She studied at the Knessin Institute in Moscow and the
Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan, Armenia. She has
also taught piano at the Komitas State Conservatory and
the Abovian Armenian Training Institute in Yerevan, as
well as Trinity College London in Dubai.
Organized by the AUS Cultural
Affairs Committee, the concert was free and open to
the public.
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A team from the UAE University
in Al Ain (UAEU), visited AUS on Tuesday, November 30, 2004,
and briefed by Dr. Moza Al Shehi Vice Chancellor for Student
Affairs on the progress of work at the AUS men and women
dorms. Seen here is Dr. Al Shehi with the team members led
by Mr. Leon ʻFilcher' and Mrs. Jane ʻfilcher,'
experts in student affairs. Also present were heads of men
and women dorms at UAEU: Omar Abdul Rahman, Mohammad Khalfan,
Abdul Aziz Al Mihrizi, Lailah Al Isa'I and Khadijah Shahin.
The team has expressed satisfaction over developed systems
of AUS dorms and the facilities provided to residing students. |
| Super achievement
Two outstanding undergraduate students from AUS have
had their papers accepted at international scholarly
conferences in the US and UK.
Abeer Fahim,
an English literature major, has had a paper accepted
for a Victorian Studies
panel at the
English Graduate Studies conference to be held at Texas
Tech University in the US. Her paper discusses the
use of the supernatural in Emily Bronte's Wuthering
Heights, and is entitled “The Supernatural as
Wuthering Heights: Challenging the Critics.
”Ella
Van Wyk has had a paper accepted at the Tolkein Society
Conference
to be held in England. This
conference is a meeting of Tolkein scholars from all
over the world. Her paper concerns the symbolic use
of character in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings
trilogy. Both papers developed as a result of projects
done by the students with Dr. Judith Caesar, Associate
Professor of English.
“These are, indeed, great accomplishments for
both students since it is very rare for undergraduates
to have their papers accepted at scholarly conferences.
This achievement reflects not only their brilliance
but also the quality of education they are receiving
at AUS” said Dr. Caesar.
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| SIEP, LEAP hold final ceremony
The Intensive English Program wrapped up two very successful
summer programs earlier this semester.
The five-week Summer Intensive English Program (SIEP
2004) helps students improve their English skills while
preparing them for study at AUS. Forty students from
18 countries received certificates for successfully completing
the program. Those students who scored 500 or higher
on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
matriculated into AUS this semester as freshmen, while
those who scored below 500 enrolled in the Intensive
English Program in order to improve their language and
study skills.
At the SIEP certificate ceremony, Chancellor Winfred
Thompson congratulated the students on their achievement
and called on them to continue their hard work during
their years of study at AUS.
Thirty-seven successful students received their certificates
at the sixth annual graduation ceremony of the Learning
English in an American Program (LEAP). This four-week
program is for high school students who have just finished
the 10th or 11th grade.
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| Go Leopards!
 The
AUS men's and women's teams won honors at the Sharjah
Ramadan Tournament 2004. The men's teams won first place
in the football competition. This was the second time
in three years that AUS has won gold at the event. AUS
also won first place in the basketball competition, defeating
the American University in Dubai in a thrilling final
match. In the volleyball tournament, the Leopards won
second place in keenly contested group that comprised
10 teams from universities and colleges across the Emirates.
Meanwhile, the women's team placed second in the volleyball
competition and won third place in table tennis. Congratulations
to all team members!
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AUS unveils The Magic
of al-Andalus
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 AUS
recently hosted the photography exhibition The Magic of
al-Andalus in the Main Building rotunda. The exhibition,
which ran November 27 through December 5, featured the
work of Group 4 Art. The group was established in England
in 2001 and has held three exhibitions thus far. The origins
of the group are found in two exhibitions held by the Arab
Cultural Club (UK) in London in 1995 and 2001. The members
of the group – Ibtissam Akkad El Ansari, Ahmad Al-Ubaydli
and Buthaina Fakhro – explored the possibilities
of new art. Their works reflected their Islamic-Arabic
culture as well as their Western, liberal education.
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AUS and UOS residents
help feral felines
After seeing many stray cats on
campus, Ms. Amanda Ward (AUS Intensive English
Program) began talking with other AUS residents
about how to help care for the animals. Her conversations
with Dr. Dennis Russell (AUS College of Arts
and Sciences), chair of the Residential Life
Committee, and other concerned residents of both
AUS and the University of Sharjah led to the
formation of a group to help the cats.
Flinch, the first cat altered
through the cat friends program.
“As cat owners, we felt
it was important to inform the campus community
about the advantages of having a controlled cat
population as well as how to treat cats properly,” said
Ms. Ward.
Called Muezza's Feline Friends,
the group's primary goal is to sterilize and
re-release the stray cats living on both campuses.
According to the Humane Society of the United
States, one female cat and her offspring can
theoretically produce 420,000 cats in seven years.
Intact cats are more likely
to roam, fight and create other problems. Not
only do the sterilized cats lead healthier, calmer
lives, they also help to control the rodent population
in the area.
The group is also feeding the
strays and trying to find homes for some cats
as well.
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| An evening of classical music
An evening of classical music with Martina
Fausch, Elizabeth McQueen and Peter Baur was held in
the Main Auditorium on October 2.
The artists are accomplished names in
their respective fields. Martina Fausch, soprano, Elizabeth
McQueen, mezzo soprano and Peter Baur, piano, have
distinguished careers.
Born and raised in Zurich, Ms. Fausch
has performed all over the world, participated in music
theatre productions and made many recordings. Ms. McQueen
has a busy international schedule as well, singing
a wide repertoire of works ranging from contemporary
to early baroque. She performs regularly with the baroque
orchestra Ad Fontes. Swiss pianist Peter Baur has accompanied
singers and instrumentalists throughout Europe, performing
at the festivals of Auvers-sur-Oise, Festival du Perigord
Noir and Festival du Perigord Pourpre in France and
the International Music Festival in Lucerne. Mr. Baur
was the prize winner of the prestigious Orpheus Concert
cycle in Zurich in 1985 and 1987.
Mr. Hans Hauser, Consul General
of Switzerland in Dubai and Northern Emirates, attended
the event. The concert was presented by the Consulate
General of Switzerland and Swiss International Airlines.
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Upcoming events
- International Conference on
Landfill Site Remediation: January 17–19,
2005
- Fifth International Conference
on Composite Science and Technology (ICCST5):
February 1-3, 2005
- First International Conference
on Modeling, Simulation and Applied Optimization:
February 1-3, 2005
- Career Fair: March 16-17, 2005
- AUS Global Days: March 30-31,
2005
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Credit card launched for students
The Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB), in conjunction with
AUS and Visa International, recently launched the world's
first Sharia-compliant card for university students. The
launch was held in the Main Building.
All full-time AUS students are eligible to apply for the
NBS AUS Islamic Visa card. The card is billed as the first
Islamic Visa card for students and is designed to provide
university students with the experience of managing their
own finances.
Club Fair attracts over 30 organizations
More than 30 on-campus clubs and organizations
participated in the AUS Club Fair held this semester. The
two-day event was inaugurated by Chancellor Winfred Thompson
and attracted a large crowd of students as well as senior
AUS officials.
Speaking on the occasion,
Dr. Thompson said that he was very pleased to see the number
and variety of
clubs represented at this semester's fair. “Joining
an on-campus club is one of the best extracurricular activities
in which a student can participate. I hope that our students
take advantage of the many organizations we have represented
here today.”
 Also
attending the fair were Dr Sallie Sheppard, the Interim Vice
Chancellor Academic Affairs; Mr. Salem Yousef Al Qaseer,
Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs; Dr. Moza Al Shehhi, Vice
Chancellor for Student Affairs; and other senior university
officials.
Colorful stalls with national flags, posters,
multimedia displays, and music livened up the Student Center
during the fair. Many students wore their national dresses,
reflecting the vibrant, multicultural environment prevalent
on campus.
AUSNEWS is published quarterly
by the Media and Printing Department,
Office of Public Affairs.
www.aus.edu
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