The American University in Cairo, on 7 acres beside the Nile River, is trying to serve as a link between the U.S. and the Arab world.
About 5,000 students are enrolled in the university, and 40,000 more take adult-education courses.
David Arnold, president of the university, recently visited Houston to meet with alumni and energy company officials and to raise funds for a new 260-acre campus.
Houston’s trade with Egypt totaled $1.1 billion last year, according to the Greater Houston Partnership.
Arnold spoke with reporter Jenalia Moreno about the $400 million campus and the Middle East.
Q: What will Halliburton’s move to Dubai mean for the region?
A: I think it is a reflection of the huge increase in the oil, energy sector in the region. Obviously, a lot of the work that they’re doing is concentrated there. There is an enormous concentration of activity taking place in Dubai and the Gulf region generally, and I would see this as part of an overall trend.
Q: How has your enrollment been affected by 9/11 and other problems in the region?
A: No matter the ups and downs in terms of the U.S. relationship and image in the region, the American Universities both in Beirut and in Cairo have enjoyed such respect that we’ve actually seen our enrollments continue to grow in the wake of 9/11.
The demand for American higher education continues to be very strong, notwithstanding people’s feelings about American foreign policy in the region.
The other thing that I think is a direct byproduct of the post-9/11 era is the dramatic increase we’ve seen in the number of American students coming to study at our university.
We now have more than 500 Americans on campus, studying Arabic or pursuing Middle East studies — trying to get beyond the headlines and understand more about the Arab world, the rich history, the culture, the language, the politics, religion of the region. We tended to have 150 in an average semester.
Q: How difficult has it been to find faculty since 9/11 and in light of instability in the Middle East?
A: Cairo tends to be seen, I think, by most folks who know the region, as a relatively stable city. It’s the civilization hub for the Arab world. We are constantly recruiting American faculty, particularly in high-demand fields like engineering and business and computer science.
We’ve had pretty good success in terms of our recruitment efforts in the humanities and social sciences. Certainly people that are in the fields of Middle East studies and Egyptology find AUC a very congenial place to be for both their research and teaching activities. It’s a constant effort on our part to try and get the caliber of faculty we need in these other disciplines.
Q: Are more business people interested in understanding the region?
A: We’ve seen a huge increase in the level of interest on the part of the Arab world generally as a place to invest, as a place to be involved in terms of their business activities.
I think universities like AUC can provide a wonderful bridge for American companies looking to find talent and to understand more about the region. Our graduates tend to be in very high demand. I do see tremendous increase in the numbers of companies that are coming to the region that are interested in doing business there.
Q: Why is it important to have such a university in the Middle East?
A: These American universities in the Middle East really represent America’s best face in the region, to the people of the region. We have a long history of educating and training leaders for the Arab world and also serving as a cultural bridge between the U.S. and the Middle East.
Certainly the work that we do is never more important than it is today given the developments in the region. Our view is that these institutions definitely deserve both public and private support from the United States.
They are the best possible investment that we could possibly make in the long-term future of the Middle East.
