Seven of the eight Jordanian Ph.D. candidates with Dean Donald McCloud, Haenicke Institute

The first cohort of eight doctoral associates has successfully completed their first academic year, studying engineering, physics, or English literature. A tea honoring the TTU students was hosted by the Haenicke Institute in April. (click here for photo gallery)

Dr. Sultan Abu-Orabi, who earned a master's in chemistry at WMU in 1977, followed by a Ph.D. at the University of Michigan, was asked by Jordan's King Abdullah II in 2005 to serve as the first president of Tafila Technical University. In an effort to encourage development in South Jordan, the King granted university status to a regional college that had previously granted only two-year degrees to found TTU.

"WMU is where I first received my M.Sc. in chemistry in 1977 under the supervision of late R.E. Harmon, and where, 27 years later, I was privileged to receive the Distinguished Achievement Award for 2004," Abu-Orabi said. "A pivotal priority of Tafila Technical University and of my presidency is to enhance the participation of our students and faculty members in an increasingly global society, an effort which has implied a growing commitment to internationalize our campus and the provision of new opportunities for interaction with a number of leading academic institutions overseas.

"Though our global education efforts are far-reaching, nowhere are they more promising and pronounced than with WMU," he said. "Two years ago, I and senior leaders of TTU traveled to Michigan in hopes of deepening our relationship. And in what is possibly the most promising indicator of the growing strength of our partnership is the fact that WMU now hosts a dozen graduate students from TTU."

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan plays an important role in the Middle East, with 5.5 million inhabitants and gross domestic product that is growing by seven percent annually. Though the country allocates more than 22 percent of its national budget to the Ministry of Education, it faces growing demand for higher education; approximately 70,000 Jordanian students pass the Tawjihi, the national secondary exit exam, to compete for 40,000 seats in the country's 10 public and 12 private universities.

Tafila Technical University is the first technical university and the ninth public university in Jordan. The city of Tafila is home to 70,000 inhabitants and is located 180 km south of Amman, in an area rich with natural resources, such as potash, cement, oil, shale and mines. Within close proximity is Petra, an ancient archeological site know as one of the "new wonders of the world."

Petra, Jordan's most famous landmark

Five of the Jordanian doctoral associates are enrolled in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and three are enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences; one in physics and two in English.

Dr. John Gesink, chair of Applied Science in CEAS, said his department is pleased to have the opportunity to work with the TTU students.

"The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department is indeed honored that TTU has chosen us to participate in furthering the education of eight of their faculty to the Ph.D. level," Gesink said. "Two semesters have passed since these students arrived and we are pleased to report that all is better than could be expected. We find this group to be very serious, capable students, who are eager to learn, willing to work very hard, and who contribute towards enlightening our academic environment and are willing to share a bit of their Jordanian culture with us. It is indeed a challenge and an opportunity, and we look forward to their continuation and successful completion."

A TTU delegation visited WMU in March 2007 for an extensive series of meetings with senior administration and 16 academic departments. A general memorandum of agreement was signed, with the main focus of initial collaboration to train TTU instructors at the Ph.D. level to expand their faculty capacity. To this end, WMU reviewed 32 profiles and admitted the following 8 Ph.D. students in fall 2008:

Brett Berquist, Haenicke Institute executive director of international programs, visited TTU in July 2007 to meet with the admitted Ph.D. students and to discuss collaboration with TTU. During this, visit President Abu-Orabi phoned President John Dunn to congratulate him on joining WMU.

Brett Berquist, Haenicke Institute, and TTU faculty and administrators at TTU's Amman office in July 2007

In their own words—two Jordan students comment on studying at WMU

Abdi-Liah Noor Marmod Al-Shabatat is one of the students pursuing a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He arrived in Kalamazoo in August 2007, and his wife and four children, ages 5 years old and younger, arrived in December.

Al-Shabatat said he chose WMU based on a personal recommendation from TTU's President Sultan. "Dr. Sultan liked WMU so much he is willing to find opportunities for TTU students to come to WMU," Al-Shabatat said.

The focus of Al-Shabatat's research is wireless networking, which will be complemented by the 16 years he served in the Royal Jordanian Air Force as a telecommunications specialist, earning the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Upon completion of his Ph.D. Al-Shabatat will return to Jordan to teach at TTU.

TTU's Amman office

Professor Liang Dong is Al-Shabatat's faculty mentor and he took classes with Drs. Frank Severance and Ikhlas Abdel-Qader during his first year at WMU. He said the strength and quality of WMU's faculty and labs were the main reasons he chose WMU, and he very much likes Kalamazoo.

"This is the fifth time I've been in the United States and I have visited Texas, Iowa, Florida and Mississippi," Al-Shabatat said. "Sometime when you go to another place, after a short time you can judge if for yourself—are you at the correct place? I came to the correct university. People are nice in Kalamazoo, we feel safe, WMU has good staff and professors, and I like that people smile a lot. I've been to many countries where I've asked people for directions to a place and they just look at me like I'm crazy. In Kalamazoo, people will not only tell you where to go, but I've had people lead me to the place I need to get to."

In addition to his research, Al-Shabatat hopes to have the opportunity to teach at WMU to help him prepare for a professorship at TTU.

"Just because you take driving lessons, it doesn't mean you are ready to drive," he said. "You need to practice, and I hope to get that opportunity during my time at WMU."

Dr. Gwen Tarbox has worked with both of the TTU students working on English Ph.D.'s. and said they are "welcome additions to the department.

WMU President Diether Haenicke hosted a luncheon at the Gilmore House in March 2007 to welcome TTU’s administrators and faculty. Left to right: Dr. Al Nawafleh (TTU), Said AbuBakr, Diether Haenicke, Janet Pisaneschi, Sultan AbuOrabi (TTU), Tom Kent, David Shields, Marwan Obeidat (TTU), Brett Berquist

"Abdullah Shehabat and Hassan Al-Momani bring an international perspective to our classrooms and they are working on challenging and important interdisciplinary dissertation topics," Tarbox said. "As their professor in Introduction to Graduate Studies, I found myself learning as much from them as they were learning from me."

Hassan Ali Abdallah Al-Momani plans to complete a dissertation comparing media discourse in Jordan and the United States. His mentor is Dr. Paul Johnston, and he has successfully team taught classes with English Professors Gwen Tarbox, Jonathan Adams, Lisa Minnick and Phil Egan. He said the department's graduate advisor, Dr. Jana Schulman, has also been quite supportive.

"WMU has been a very good choice," said Al-Momani, who lives near campus with his wife and a toddler, with a baby on the way. "The facilities are beautiful, everyone has been very helpful to us, and the staff and faculty make us feel like we are part of this community."

Al-Momani received tangible affirmation of his value to WMU, when he received the English Department's International Student Award in April, which included a $225 honorarium. "I am very thankful to my professors, the Haenicke Institute and WMU's president for taking good care of us," Al-Momani said.

Upon completion of his Ph.D., Al-Momani plans to return to TTU to teach English literature and linguistics.

"I will be a good ambassador for WMU by telling my friends and colleagues about how helpful my professors have been," he said. "I will encourage my students and relations to attend WMU to earn graduate degrees from this distinguished university."