Top representatives from Northwestern University in Qatar came to the Evanston Campus to speak Wednesday afternoon about the school’s accomplishments and growth over the past five years.
The representatives, which included Everette Dennis, dean and CEO of NU-Q; Jeremy Cohen, NU-Q’s dean for academic affairs; and Greg Bergida, NU-Q’s director of student affairs, spoke to an audience of about 60 students, faculty members and alumni in Louis Room North at Norris University Center.
Provost Dan Linzer said NU-Q has “transitioned from a startup to a school” and administrators are still working to find the best way to deliver education in Qatar.
NU-Q is one of six American schools in Education City, along with satellite schools of Texas A&M University, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Virginia Commonwealth University and Weill Cornell Medical College. It opened journalism and communication programs in 2008.
(In Focus: Forging a free press at Northwestern’s Qatar campus)
Dennis said NU-Q students can take courses at the other five schools, as well as obtain internships and residencies. He said although the region is not known for granting freedom of expression and students are occasionally detained by police, this challenge enriches the experience.
(NU-Q study shows division over Web freedom in Middle East, North Africa)
“It is rare that we have various interventions, but when we have them, we deal with them properly and well,” Dennis said.
Dennis acknowledged Qatar’s gender equality gaps. He said though the progression of women’s rights is behind that of other countries, the presence of the more progressive Education City makes it “a place where you can experience a cauldron of change.”
Cohen talked about the diversity of NU-Q’s student body. He said the current freshman class comes from 16 countries across four continents. Less than half of these students hail from Qatar.
“(Students) get to face a culture and atmosphere different from anything you imagined in your life,” Cohen said.
Bergida talked about his move from New York City to Doha. He said it is an exciting time to be in Qatar because administrators are working with Al Jazeera to create an internship program, and faculty are currently working with the news organization on the planning process for Al Jazeera America.
Medill freshman Matt Cowen, who attended the event, said he was intrigued by the administrators’ consideration of NU’s Evanston and Qatar campuses as equal, something that signaled their unification. He said this was made noticeable by the way speakers referred to the campuses.
“I found it interesting how the Evanston Campus is known as the home campus instead of the main campus,” he said.
NU-Q will graduate its third class at the end of this academic year.
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