About 16 miles from Northwestern University in Qatar, Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Feb. 28 hit the U.S. Al Udeid Air Base among other U.S. military bases across Gulf Arab states.
The strikes followed the U.S. and Israel’s joint-military operation that targeted several cities in Iran that day, The New York Times reported.
Under the leadership of NU-Q Dean and CEO Marwan Kraidy, the campus has initiated safety measures since then, including shelter-in-place advisories, remote operations, assisted bus departures and financial assistance for student evacuations.
Interim President Henry Bienen wrote in a Feb. 28 email to the NU-Q community that Evanston campus leadership was in continuous communication with NU-Q leaders.
“We have been in close contact with NU-Q leaders throughout the day to ensure we clearly understand the situation in Doha as well as the welfare of our students, faculty and staff,” Bienen wrote.
Bienen oversaw the founding of NU-Q in 2009, the last year of his term as president.
On March 4, Bienen reaffirmed that NU leadership is in “around-the-clock contact” with NU-Q leaders in his first and only email to NU’s Evanston and Chicago community.
NU-Q responds to preliminary retaliatory strikes
The Feb. 28 retaliatory strikes unfolded as students returned to NU-Q on the last day of Spring Break. Some students told The Daily they heard loud noises that morning. Others were unable to return to campus due to the Qatar airspace’s closure.
Throughout the day, the NU-Q community received a series of alerts and emails from NU-Q leadership and the Qatar government, beginning with an AlertNU-QATAR email that advised community members to “return home immediately and remain indoors.”
The Qatar government continued to issue National Emergency Alerts throughout March as the situation evolved.
NU-Q transitions to remote learning for the rest of the semester
NU is one of six U.S. universities with a satellite campus in Education City. The Doha-based hub is sponsored by the government-backed Qatar Foundation.
Although the Qatar government has cleared educational institutions for in-person learning, all six U.S. universities in Education City have transitioned to remote operations for the rest of the semester.
Kraidy first announced a move to remote operations on Feb. 28. Escalating safety measures and logistical adjustments accompanied the transition to remote operations.
Health, Safety, Security and Environment Director Michael McDonough sent out a community check-in form on March 8 to assess interest in University-provided relocation measures.
NU-Q community undergoes evacuations and returns, assisted departures
On March 11, NU-Q planned to conduct its first assisted bus departure to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for “faculty, staff, international students, spouses and dependents,” McDonough wrote in a March 9 email. Travelers then needed to arrange their own flights out of Riyadh, the email stated.
Qatar’s airspace remained closed at the time of the first bus departure. Community members interested in limited commercial and repatriation flights offered by Qatar Airways arranged the transport independently of NU-Q, according to the email.
Some individuals left prior to the first bus departure through embassy-coordinated arrangements, McDonough wrote.
Students could apply for the Student Emergency and Essential Needs Fund to support departure from Qatar, according to the email. The fund can be claimed once per calendar year.
NU-Q has undergone multiple evacuations as precautionary measures. A March 29 temporary relocation followed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps labeling U.S. universities in the region “legitimate targets,” according to multiple media outlets.
Evacuated students returned to campus March 31.
As of April 1, the number of flights to and from Doha were gradually increasing, according to a Qatar Airways travel alert.
Few students are currently staying in Education City as NU-Q remains remote until at least the end of the school year.
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Related Stories:
— NU-Q students in Qatar Foundation housing return to Education City after another evacuation
— Northwestern University in Qatar to stay in remote operations until semester end
