Haenicke Institute welcomes international
guests from Jordan, Japan and Germany

Several distinguished international guests are visiting campus the first week of fall semester, including WMU alumnus Dr. Sultan Abu-Orabi president of Tafila Technical University in Jordan. Abu-Orabi will lead a delegation visiting the 9 Ph.D. students from TTU now studying at WMU. The delegation will visit with their students and their families over the Labor Day weekend and undertake two days of visits to academic departments on September 2-3. 

The institute is also hosting a delegation from Otaru University of Commerce in Japan and Dr. Karsten Fitz from the University of Passau in Germany the first week of the fall semester

TTU campus visit itinerary 

Otaru campus visit itinerary

University of Passau visit press release 

Several distinguished international guests are visiting campus the first week of fall semester, including WMU alumnus Dr. Sultan Abu-Orabi president of Tafila Technical University in Jordan. Abu-Orabi will lead a delegation visiting the 9 Ph.D. students from TTU now studying at WMU. The delegation will visit with their students and their families over the Labor Day weekend and undertake two days of visits to academic departments on September 2-3.   

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.  

9 Ph.D. students from Tafila have completed their first year of study at WMU.  See http://international.wmich.edu/content/view/1200/401/ for more information.  Additional students are expected this fall.  

This is TTU’s second visit to Kalamazoo to discuss collaboration in building the faculty for this new university founded in 2005 by 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.

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."

If you would like to meet with our visitors from Tafila, please contact Bill Woods, Haenicke Institute for Global Education, at w.woods@wmich.edu   or (269) 387-5890.

Otaru University of Commerce, Japan visits WMU to discuss Master’s in Commerce degree

The institute is also hosting a delegation from Otaru University of Commerce in Japan. Dr. Kazuo Watanabe, dean of the Graduate School of Commerce, Dr. Kohichi Sayama, Department of Information and Management Science, and Mr. Kyosuke Maruyama, International Planning are visiting WMU September 4-5 to review our longstanding student exchange relationship.  They will also survey students and administration for input on offering a second intake session for their Master’s of Commerce degree taught in English.

Otaru University of Commerce, Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan http://www.otaru-uc.ac.jp/welcome-e.html is visiting WMU September 4-5 to review our longstanding student exchange relationship.  They will also survey students and administration for input on offering a second intake session for their Master’s of Commerce degree taught in English.

Dr. Kazuo Watanabe, Dean of Graduate School of Commerce, Dr. Kohichi Sayama, Department of Information and Management Science, and Mr. Kyosuke Maruyama, International Planning will be hosted by the Haenicke Institute for Global Education.  Meetings are scheduled with the faculty of the Michitoshi Soga Japan Center and the International Business Education Committee of the Haworth College of Business. 

A luncheon is scheduled at the Bernhard Center cafeteria from 12:30 to 2:00 pm for interested faculty and staff who would like to meet our guests.  Please rsvp to osa-assistant@wmich.edu 

Otaru University of Commerce is one of our longstanding exchange partners in Japan and offers an extensive array of intensive Japanese courses as well as business and economics courses taught in English.  More than 40 students have been exchanged between Otaru and WMU since the beginning of our exchange partnership in 1994.

If you would like to meet with our visitors from Otaru, please contact Bill Woods, Haenicke Institute for Global Education, at w.woods@wmich.edu   or (269) 387-5890.