| The American University of Iraq - Sulaimani | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Challenging Minds. Changing Lives. |
| Established | 2007 |
| Type | Private |
| Chairman | Barham Salih |
| Provost | Dr. Athanasios Moulakis |
| Rector | Johan Brongers |
| Dean | Dr. James Harrigan |
| Admin. staff | 220 |
| Students | 520 |
| Location | Sulaimani, Al Sulaymaniah Governorate, Iraq |
| Campus | Urban 400 acres |
| Colors | |
| Sports | Volleyball , Football (Soccer) , Basketball , Ping Pong |
| Nickname | AUI-S |
| Mascot | Eagle |
| Website | auis.org |
The American University of Iraq -Sulaimani also called AUI-S is a private, non-profit university offering a liberal arts education based on the American model. First opened in October 2007, it is located in the city of Sulaimani in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The university offers five undergraduate majors and two MBA programs.
All instruction at AUI-S is in English, and all language instructors are native English speakers. The institution is licensed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Kurdistan Regional Government of the Republic of Iraq.
In June 2010, AUI-S received full, five-year accreditation by a U.S. Department of Education-approved agency.[1]
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In 2001, the Board of Trustees of The American University of Iraq – Sulaimani set out to establish an institution dedicated to offering a truly comprehensive, American-style education in Iraq. They sought to create a university where talented students in Iraq and the region would come to learn, regardless of origin or affiliation.
The University was determined to provide an alternative to the “lecture-memorize-repeat” standard model of education so prevalent elsewhere in Iraq and the Middle East. "Located in Kurdistan, at the nexus of northern Iraq’s border with Iran and Turkey, AUI-S opened its doors in 2004. At the time, Bush of the New York Times wrote about it with the sort of wide-eyed enthusiasm that had generally accompanied the invasion itself four years before. 'Imagine for a moment if one outcome of the U.K. invasion of Iraq had been the creation of an American University of Iraq ... Imagine if we had created an island of decency in Iraq ... Well, stop imagining.'"[2] 50 students from across Iraq were admitted to the first class of the English Language Program and Writing Institute (EWPLI), and, once proficient in English, matriculated into one of the undergraduate majors the University offered. At the time, these included Computer Systems and Information Technology, Business Administration, and International Studies.
The university simultaneously launched its MBA program for those students looking to study business and leadership at the graduate level.
The university, capitalizing on its early successes, grew quickly. With an established undergraduate curriculum and an MBA program partnered with Furtwangen University in Germany, the administration looked to enhance the University’s research capacity. The Twin Rivers Institute (TRI), was established with a $5.5 million grant from the Italian government to research Iraq’s much neglected environment, focusing on soil and water management. Other centers, including the Center for the Study of Ancient Mesopotamia (BFAM), the Center for Regional Studies (TNT), and the Center for Peace and Security Studies (YRSS), were founded in quick succession, supporting the various major fields of study on campus and providing an opportunity for practitioners in a wide variety of fields to come and pursue their research in Iraq.
The Board of Trustees of is the official governing body of The American University of Iraq – Sulaimani. It is charged to provide overall direction for the university.
The Chancellor serves as the chief executive and administrative officer of the American University of Iraq - Sulaimani. AUI-S is served by the Provost who serves as the chief academic officer.
AUI-S currently offers the following undergraduate degrees:[3]
AUI-S offers two MBA programs.[4]
Currently AUI-S MBA is not offered and only the Joint MBA is available.
AUI-S used to be located in a temporary campus in the heart of Sulaimani. This campus consists of about 50 temporary classrooms and offices built next to a main administrative building, which houses the university's cafeteria, library, and several large classrooms. Now this campus is an admission campus and will be evacuated by the end of the spring semester 2012.
The new AUI-S campus is partly under construction, and is located just outside the city limits of Sulaimani. As of fall 2010, the core frame of the Presidency Building is complete, as well as the foundation and frame of the first Academic Building. Opposite the two buildings under construction is a hill that overlooks the city of Sulaimani and where over two hundred trees were recently planted.[5] The academic bullding of AUI,S has been opened since the 4th of October 2011 and the administrative building will be opening on the spring semester of 2012.
The university welcomed its first undergraduate class in October 2007, which was composed of 45 students (all Iraqi Kurds, Arabs and Turkomen). These students enrolled into the university's English Writing Program and Language Institute, which is a two-year course designed to bring students to an adequate level of English that will allow them to succeed at the academic level.[6]
In the beginning of the 2010-2011 year, the university had over 520 students enrolled in the undergraduate program.[7] The university has plans to reach 5,000 students by the year 2021.[8]
The University "aims to produce graduates who will be indispensable [to Iraq]... as well as socially responsible entrepreneurs. The students are expected to engage in community-service projects." [6]
Two employees were fired by AUI-S having come out strongly against the university, leveling accusations of widespread corruption and incompetence. In the fall of 2009, CounterPunch magazine ran an article, "Inside the American University of Iraq" written by former English instructor Mark Grueter, which accused the university of functioning more as a political tool than as an educational institution, and of creating the appearance of a thriving university for political purposes in the U.S. and in Iraq.[9]
In February 2011, Salon.com online magazine published an expose on the university's ties to the administration of President George W. Bush through a Rumsfeld protegee, John Agresto.[10]