College launches first Arabic school abroad

Author: Zamir Ahmed

The foundation of the C.V. Starr-Middlebury School Abroad in the Middle East marks the first such language school to be opened by any American institution, the College announced on Jan. 18. The school, located in Alexandria, Egypt and affiliated with Alexandria University, will offer courses to an estimated 15-20 students per semester beginning in the fall of 2007.

"The fact that we will have this sort of program - as far as we know, the only of its kind - will put Middlebury out front of other institutions when it comes to demonstrating the seriousness with which we take engaging the rest of the world in general, and the Middle East in particular," said Jeffrey Cason, dean of International Programs. "We have been building our academic year Arabic program for several years now and the number of students taking Arabic has increased every year. We would expect that to continue to grow, especially with the addition of the program in Alexandria."

The establishment of the school in Egypt follows an exploration period in which the College examined a number of sites for the possible location of the school. In the spring of 2006, Dean of Language Schools and Schools Abroad Michael Geisler, then Director of Off Campus Studies David Macey and Director of Arabic Language School Mahmoud Abdalla visited 10 universities in four countries in the Middle East to narrow down the list of potential sites for the school. After a follow-up visit by College officials in October 2006 to schools in Syria, Jordan and Egypt, Alexandria was chosen as the site for the new Arabic School Abroad.

"All three locations would have provided good environments for our program," said Geisler, "but we had to make a choice and decided that Alexandria, with its two millennia of history and cultural tradition and the superb library, was the best place to establish our first program in the Middle East."

With the addition of the new Arabic School, the College currently operates study abroad programs in 30 cities in 12 countries around the world. While the College's program in the Middle East is the first of its kind, Geisler mentioned the potential for the opening of more schools in the region.

"Depending on student interest and the academic success of the program in Alexandria, other programs may be added in the future," said Geisler.

According to Cason, the College has been looking to establish an Arabic school abroad since the creation of the Arabic program.

"Certainly the idea for a School in the Middle East has been around since we first decided to offer Arabic during the academic year in 2003," said Cason. "Once it was clear that there was a high level of demand for Arabic, it was natural to consider how we might complement our offerings on campus with a study abroad program."

According to Geisler, the presence of the Arabic school in Alexandria also has the potential to attract students and faculty to the College's Arabic Summer Language School, which, as part of the College's Summer Language School program, plays an important role in bringing financial and academic resources to the College.

"Our base in Alexandria may enable us to establish new contacts in several countries in the region both for possible future recruiting for the academic-year curriculum and also with a view to recruiting faculty for the Arabic Summer Language School which, under the expert guidance of Director Mahmoud Abdalla has witnessed a veritable explosion of applications over the past few years," said Geisler.

While the active recruitment stage of the project has yet to begin, Geisler believed that the number of Middlebury students who would study at the school would fall in line with the College's worldwide average for the other Schools Abroad that it operates.

"My best guess would be that we will have roughly two-thirds Middlebury students and one-third students from other institutions," said Geisler.

The creation of an Arabic school in Alexandria seems to be supported by those students involved in the Arabic program, who have already expressed interest in studying at the school.

"I think that Alexandria is a fantastic choice," said Nura Suleiman '07, who assisted in the process once the site was picked. "It's a beautiful city, and the university is quite spectacular. I went to Syria, and while I loved the opportunity to visit the country, I missed Middlebury's instruction there. A new site will be fantastic for future students. From what I can tell, the interest in this program is huge."