American University in Cairo
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| American University in Cairo | |
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| الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة | |
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| Established: | 1919 |
| Type: | Private |
| President: | David D. Arnold |
| Provost: | Lisa Anderson |
| Staff: | Full-time 413 Part-Time 298 |
| Undergraduates: | 4,229 |
| Postgraduates: | 1,093 |
| Location: | Cairo, Egypt |
| Campus: | New Cairo, Egypt |
| Website: | www.aucegypt.edu/ |
The American University in Cairo (AUC) is an English-language liberal arts university located in Cairo, Egypt. The university provides educational opportunities to students from different segments of Egyptian society, as well as from other countries, and contributes to Egypt's cultural and intellectual life. The university offers programs at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels, as well as an extensive continuing education program.
The university advances the ideals of American liberal arts and professional education and of life-long learning. As freedom of academic expression is fundamental to this effort, AUC encourages the free exchange of ideas and promotes open and on-going interaction with scholarly institutions throughout Egypt and other parts of the world.
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[edit] Historical Development of the University
The American University in Cairo was founded in 1919 by Evangelical Americans dedicated to the cultural enrichment and modernization of Egypt[1]. For its first 27 years the university was shaped by its founding president, Dr. Charles A. Watson. He wanted to create an English-language university based on high standards of conduct and scholarship and to contribute to intellectual growth, discipline, and character of the future leaders of Egypt and the region. He also believed that such a university would greatly improve America's understanding of the area.
Initially, AUC was intended to be both a preparatory school and a university. The preparatory school opened on October 5, 1920, with 142 students in two classes that were equivalent to the last two years of an American high school. The first diplomas issued were junior college-level certificates given to 20 students in 1923. At first an institution only for males, the university enrolled its first female student in 1928, the same year in which the first university class graduated with two B.A.'s and one B.S. degrees awarded. Master's degrees were first offered in 1950.
Originally AUC offered instruction in the arts and sciences and in education. In 1921, the School of Oriental Studies was added to the university, followed in 1924 by the Division of Extension. This division was later renamed the Division of Public Service, and finally evolved into the Center for Adult and Continuing Education. AUC's high school division, known as the Lincoln School, was discontinued in 1951.
In 1956, the School of Oriental Studies was incorporated into the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as the Center for Arabic Studies. The English Language Institute was added the same year. After the Faculty of Education was discontinued in 1961 and degree offerings were dropped from the Division of Public Service, university degree work was consolidated into a single academic structure, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Programs in sociology, anthropology, political science and economics were added to the curriculum and the natural science offerings were significantly expanded.
Two applied research units, the Social Research Center and the Desert Development Center, were established in 1953 and 1979, respectively. Another landmark in the history of the university was the development of professional programs: the departments of Engineering, Computer Science, Journalism and Mass Communication, and Management now offer several degree programs at the Bachelor's and Master's levels.
In 1960, AUC enrolled approximately 400 academic students. By 1969 the university had more than tripled its degree enrollments to over 1,300 students, 450 of whom were pursuing graduate studies. Since then academic program enrollments have grown to 3,890 students at the undergraduate level and 1,013 students at the master's degree level 9 (Fall 2006). Adult education expanded simultaneously and now serves approximately 30,000 individuals each year in non-credit courses and contracted training programs.
In 1993, the academic programs offered through 13 departments were organized into three schools: Humanities and Social Sciences; Sciences and Engineering; and Business, Economics and Communication.
In 2007, the university's Center for Adult and Continuing Education was renamed the School of Continuing Education and in 2008, the Adham Center for TV Journalism was renamed the Kamal Adham Center for Journalism, Training and Research.
[edit] Campus
The university's Tahrir Square Campus was originally built in the late 1860s as Khairy Pasha palace and became the AUC campus in the 1920s.
In the summer of 2008, AUC relocated to New Cairo. The New Cairo Campus has an area of approximately 280 acres (1.1 km2) compared to the downtown campus of 7.8 acres (32,000 m2). The campus accommodates about 5,500 full time students as well as 1,500 faculty and staff. Construction of the new campus was estimated to cost around $400 million ($100 million of which was provided by USAID), making it the largest in Egypt. The inauguration of the new campus took place on the February, 7, 2009 and was attended by a number of key persons including Suzanne Mubarak, Egypt's first lady and AUC alumna.
Moving the campus to New Cairo has been controversial due to its distance from the city center and isolated. There were protests due to the move, especially since the new campus was not completed when it was opened.[2]
[edit] Research
AUC is dedicated to conducting research within Egypt and the region that advances insight and understanding and addresses current social needs. An important aspect of the university's mission is to enhance and encourage research and provide a climate conducive to maintaining the university at the cutting edge of research and scholarly activities. AUC faculty engage in a variety of research projects and creative activities covering every area of academic inquiry.
Research centers at AUC include the Social Research Center, the Desert Development Center, the Forced Migration and Refugee Studies Program, the Institute for Gender and Women's Studies, the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud Center for American Studies and Research, and the Science and Technology Research Center.
[edit] Student Community Service Program
The university’s community service program includes more than 10 student-run community service organizations addressing a range of social issues. Students work with children, the elderly, cancer patients, orphans, the blind and the needy. Every service program offers hands-on experience with civic action, an enhanced awareness of the meaning of citizenship, and the opportunity to find solutions and assume a leadership role in the community.
AUC’s Community Service Program connects student clubs with NGOs and other service-based agencies to provide a far-reaching and long-term range of services and activities that target the needy.
[edit] Student Organizations
The American University in Cairo's flexible environment enables its students to freely participate in extracurricular activities.
[edit] Swine flu outbreak
On June 4 2009 two students arriving from the U.S.A have been diagnosed with the swine flu and the universities dormitory has been put under quarantine. The dormitory contained 140 residents at the time which were all quarantined. As a result of the incident, doubt has been cast about the preventative measures taken at the Cairo Airport. The University suspended classes until 14 June.[3][4]
[edit] Notable alumni
- Suzanne Mubarak, Egypt's First Lady.
- Rania Abduallah, HM The Queen of Jordan.
- Gamal Mubarak, Secretary General of the National Democratic Party Policies Committee; and President Hosni Mubarak's son.
- Tarek Amer, deputy governor of Egypt's Central Bank.
- Omar Samra, First Egyptian to climb Mount Everest
- Dan Stoenescu, Romanian diplomat, political scientist and journalist
- Haifa Al-Mansour, Saudi Arabia's first female filmmaker.
- HH Princess Muzna Al-Qu'aiti, Princess of Hadhramaut.
- Thomas Friedman, columnist with the New York Times and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.
- Hisham Abbas, singer.
- Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, former president of Maldives
- Yuriko Koike, Minister of Defense, Japan
- Melanie Craft, Romance Novelist, Larry Ellison's Wife (Oracle Corporation CEO)
[edit] Notable Professors
- Lawrence Wright, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author
[edit] References
- ^ Obrien, Michael B. (2007). Power, Faith and Fantasy: America in the Middle East; 1776 to the Present. New York, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.. pp. 778 w/Index. ISBN 978-0-393-05826-0.
- ^ http://in.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idINIndia-38046120090216
- ^ "Swine flu scare at university dorm in Cairo". BBC. 2009-06-09. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8090046.stm. Retrieved on 2009-06-09.
- ^ Johnston, Cynthia (2009-06-09). "Egypt quarantines university dorm over H1N1 cases". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/europeCrisis/idUSL8674759. Retrieved on 2009-06-09.
