Higher Education in the Middle East and the Next Generation of Arab Leaders

Google Tech Talks May, 22 2008 ABSTRACT Higher education is changing rapidly in the Middle East with the establishment of new U.S. campuses in the Gulf Emirates and the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. And at a time when Arab opinion of U.S. policies has never been lower, the demand for U.S.-style, English-language higher education in the Middle East has never been greater. These changes are crucial to the future economic, societal and political development in the region. Speaker: David D. Arnold, President, The American University David Arnold became the tenth president of the American University in Cairo in September 2003. Initiatives launched during his presidency include establishing a graduate school of business and new master's degree programs in biotechnology, computer and architectural engineering, television and digital media, and women's studies; a 50 percent expansion of the university's continuing education programs from 30,000 to 45,000 students; and extending scholarship assistance for needy and deserving students from Egypt and the surrounding region. Throughout his tenure, he has also focused on overseeing construction of AUC's new campus, a $400 million on 260 acres in New Cairo, which opens in September 2008. He has also chaired the university's comprehensive fundraising campaign, which surpassed its $100 million goal in 2007. Prior to joining AUC, Arnold was executive vice president of the Institute of International Education, the world's largest and oldest nonprofit educational exchange organization. From 1984 to 1997, he was with the Ford Foundation, initially as the first program officer in the field of governance and later as its representative for India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Arnold began his public service career in 1975 in his home state of Michigan as a budget analyst with the Michigan Department of Labor. In 1977 he joined the National Governors Association in Washington, D.C., to manage intergovernmental relations on employment, housing and economic development issues. He later served as executive director of the Coalition of Northeastern Governors, a think tank and policy institute serving the northeast region of the United States. Arnold received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and M.P.A from Michigan State University