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Dr. French is Chancellor Emeritus and Trustee of the American University of Sharjah. Before going to the UAE, he had a 30-year career at George Washington University where he was Professor of Philosophy and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
In an article in the Fall 2008 issue of The New Atlantic, the Doha-based Egyptian science writer Waleed Al-Shobakky, advanced the proposition that the center of creative initiative in higher education in the Arab world has shifted from the traditionally influential lands of Egypt and the Levant to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
Higher Education and the Middle East: Serving the Knowledge-based Economy
This is the first of three volumes examining the internationalization of higher education and the Middle East. The 12 essays included in this volume explore some of the changes that are taking place and the challenges that lie ahead as Middle Eastern countries seek to build sustainable higher education systems and strengthen their economies. Within the dynamic global higher education landscape, is the Middle East a stagnant backwater or a center of creative initiative? What are, and should be the roles of foreign partners and providers?
