ANNAPOLIS, Md.— The Naval Academy has established a new distinguished chair for Middle East Studies, the Class of 1955 Endowed Faculty Chair in Middle East Studies. Dr. Akbar Ahmed, a world renowned expert on Islam, cultural anthropologist and former High Commissioner of Pakistan to Great Britain, will join the faculty in the Academy’s Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies this fall semester. The new Chair has been funded by a gift from the Class of 1955.
“Dr. Ahmed brings a wealth of knowledge and experience about Islam to the Naval Academy. He will enrich the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies by acting as an advisor for many midshipmen and faculty, as well as assisting in research projects, giving seminars and teaching,” said Academic Dean and Provost Dr. William Miller.
Ahmed, the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University, has been a Visiting Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University and has taught at Princeton, Harvard and Cambridge Universities. Ahmed was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Liverpool; received his Ph.D. at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University; M.A. and Diploma in Education from Cambridge University; and a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honors) from Birmingham University.
Ahmed’s numerous books, films and documentaries have won prestigious awards and his books have been translated into several languages, including Chinese and Indonesian.
For more information about the Naval Academy, visit www.usna.edu.
USNA
#200-08
Sept. 12, 2008
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