Fall 2011 CELF Participants

LUBNA AKROUSH - JORDAN Dr. Akroush holds the position of Dean and Associate Professor at Princess Alia University College at the Al-Balqa Applied University in Jordan. After securing her Master’s degree in Sociology, Dr. Akroush went on to complete her Ph.D. in Social Sciences from Lebanese University. She has extensive experience in dealing with problems facing the elderly in Jordan, and is considered a resident expert in this area. Dr. Akroush plays an effective role in shaping the skills of social work students and achieving a qualitative change in the engagement of Jordanian university students in serving the elderly. In addition to her work in academia, she is also a member of several policy making committees working on issues related to family, child protection, and violence against the elderly, among others. She believes that participating in the CELF program will offer her the opportunity to learn firsthand about the US model in the area of protecting the elderly and will also expose her to new theories and methods in social work science, which she hopes to apply at her university.
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HUSSEIN SHARAH - JORDAN After securing a Ph.D. in counseling from the University of Colorado-Boulder, Dr. Hussein went on to serve as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Louisville-Kentucky. He is currently Dean of the College of Educational Sciences at Mutah University in Jordan as well as Professor of Counseling Psychology. His research interests include personality subjects, vocational life and decision making, family counseling and psychological and behavioral problems. He has published extensively in referral journals across several Arab countries and in the United States. By participating in this program, he hopes to learn new steps of thought regarding elections; new styles of managing conflict; skills related to motivating individuals to participate in civic society organizations; exploring new ways of teaching especially in the field of counseling; and developing curriculum for graduate programs.
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RABEA ANIQ-FILALI - MOROCCO
Dr. Filali, who has been teaching English literature since 1982, holds a Ph.D. in Literatures and Civilizations of the Anglo-Saxon World from the Sorbonne University in Paris. Her primary research interests include satirical writings from the 17th to the 20th Centuries. Her other fields of interest include Gender and Media Studies and she currently coordinates the Women and Gender Studies Research Group. She is also a member of EI Amane Association for Women’s Promotion of Violence against Women. Through her participation in the CELF program, Dr. Filali wants to help establish a new course on Civic Education that will improve the quality and capacity of her educational institution in Morocco. As a member of the English Department Secretariat, she exerts considerable influence on teaching and training methods.
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FATIMA AHMED HASSAN ATIYAT - JORDAN Dr. Atiyat comes to the CELF program with years of experience teaching social studies as well as designing and implementing social development projects. A Ph.D. in Human Rights from the University of Jordan, Dr. Atiyat’s laurels include publishing a book titled Stability and Change, a Study Anthropology of the City of Salt. She currently holds the position of Assistant Professor at Princess Rahma University College at the Al- Balqa Applied University, Jordan. A social worker at heart, she has years of experience working as a specialist on varied projects of the Ministry of Social Development. Over the years, Dr. Atiyat has been conducting several workshops on training of trainers in the field of family planning and population education, project planning and communication, and employment of women with disabilities, among others. She believes the CELF program will enable her to create awareness about the importance of civic engagement, human rights and democratic principles as part of the curriculum in Jordan.
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KHADIJA SAFI-EDDINE - MOROCCO
Dr. Safi-Eddine joins the CELF program in her capacity as a professor of American and British Literature at the Hassan II University in Morocco. She also teaches World Literature in Translation, World Literature in English, Literary Studies and Literary Criticism. She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Pennsylvania State University in the United States and her primary research interests include feminist writing, cultural studies, and women and development issues in Morocco. She also holds a Master’s degree in Victorian Studies from Keele University in Great Britain. Her desire to become a CELF fellow is the result of her being convinced that civic education is a critical component to ensuring the development and the implementation of a democratic society.
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LARBI TOUAF - MOROCCO Dr. Touaf holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the Université Paris-Sorbonne and currently teaches in his capacity as Associate-Professor of English at the University Mohamed I Oujda in Morocco. He is also the chair of the English Department. Dr. Touaf has written and published extensively and his recent stint as a co-editor was a book titled, ‘The World as a Global Agora: Critical Perspectives on Public Space’. Over and above his academic commitments, Dr. Touaf established the “Identity and Difference” research group at his university, is a member of the North-East Modern Language Association as well as the Middle East Studies Association based in the United States. He is a firm believer that civic engagement can be integrated into the curriculum in different ways if there is a strong and sustained commitment from the faculty.
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NOUREDDINE MOUHADJER - ALGERIA A Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics, Dr. Mouhadjer heads the Global Virtual Classroom project, collaboration between ECU University (USA) and UABT University (Algeria). Dr. Mouhadjer teaches linguistics at the Department of Foreign Languages, UABT University in Algeria and his primary research interests include communication technologies in linguistics and cross-cultural interaction. During his stint as a Humphrey Fellow in 2007-2008, Dr. Mouhadjer earned a Certificate of Achievement in Technology and Education and a Certificate of Achievement in the Leadership Series from PennState College. His previous experience in civic engagement was when he served as a volunteer ambassador for International Understanding and Global Education.
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January - May 2011 CELF Participants
ATEF AHMED - EGYPT
A doctoral student at the Institute of Educational Studies at Cairo University, Atef Ahmed has an academic background in the field of education and has years of experience planning and designing teacher's education programs. Mr. Ahmed holds a Bachelor's degree in Education Curriculum and Teaching Methods from Helwan University in Egypt. He also has a Master's degree in Instructional Technology and a postgraduate diploma in NGO Management from Cairo University. His PhD dissertation that he is presently developing is titled A Suggested System for Utilizing E-Government to Achieve transparency in Managing Pre-University Education in Egypt. Apart from pursuing his academic endeavors, Mr. Ahmed currently works in the Education Reform Program managed by Cairo's American Institutes for research. Prior to this, he worked as an Education Development Specialist at USAID in Egypt and has also worked in the Education Enhancement Program under the Egyptian Ministry of Education. At SYracuse University, he expects to be able to obtain knowledge regarding education governance and ways of using technology to eliminate corruption in the education sector and to achieve success, equity and quality in Egyptian education sector.
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TAREQ AL QASSAR-IRAQ
A Ph.D in Political Science, Dr. Tareq Mohammedtaib Thaher AL-Qassar teaches at the College of Political Science at the University of Mosul, Iraq. He teaches courses on International Relations, International Law, International Organizations and Human Rights among others. His research interests include analyzing corruption, democracy and civil society. As an academician, he has sought to establish networking opportunities with the local community in Iraq. He has participated in several international workshops and conferences and is currently making efforts to establish a community based organization in Iraq.
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MOHAMED BEHNASSI - MOROCCO
Dr. Behnassi teaches at the Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Sciences at Ibn Zohr University of Agadir in Morocco and has a multidisciplinary academic background in international law and social sciences. His proffessional achievements include setting up the North - South Center for Social Sciences in Morocco, being part of the committee that prepared the Equity and Reconcilliation Commission Draft report in Morocco, and being a member of the Executive Board of the World Forum on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security. Dr. Behnassi has also provided consultancy on human rights issues and the sustainability of the global supply chain in the MENA Region. Dr. Behnassi holds a PhD in Sociology of International Relations (Global Sustainability Politics) and is currently publishing and editing four books: Global Food Insecurity; Sustainable Agricultural Development; Health, Environment and Development and Climate Change; Energy Crisis and Food Security. He hopes that the CELF program will enhance his teaching research and networking skills that will enable him to lead change in his academic environment.
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HASSAN HAKIM - MOROCCO
A Ph.D in postcolonial literature, Dr. Hakim comes to Syracuse from Morocco's Oujda University where he has been teaching English literature since the past 15 years. Dr. Hakim's primary research interest is participatory social action and the requisite professional skills at the micro-local level such as group dynamics, project elaboration, leadership development, accessibility and active participation in decision making. His interest in social pedagogy is evident formt eh fact that he helped launch his university's social work program on "Socio-Cultural Animation" and taught modules on "Social and Cultural Policies" to aspiring social workers. Through the CELF program, Dr. Hakim hopes to develop skills and build relationships to move from the peripheral to full membership of a community of practice that seeks to forge a shared repertoire of resources and practices in the field of participatory democracy.
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SARA KAMAL - EGYPT
Sara Kamal is an assistant lecturer of Economics at the University of Ain Shams in Cairo and is pursuing her Ph.D in Economics at her university. After successfully completing her Master's Degree in Economics from the University of Ain Shams, Ms. Kamal went on to earn her Master of Science degree in International Trade and Finance from the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom. Her primary teaching and research interests are International Trade, Economic Development and Gender Equality. Ms. Kamal is a board member of the NGO 'The Economic Liberation' that works on development projects. She worked as a consultant and trainer for the Young Women's Leadership Project, a USAID partnership project for empowering underprivileged women. As a CELF fellow, she aims to promote awareness and participation in the economic and political reform that is paving the way for social change in Egypt, through educating young students. She also hopes to acquire new and improved methods in teaching and curriculum development that will benefit her home institution.
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HALIMA OUAMOUCH - MOROCCO
Halima Ouamouch is an assistant professor at the English Studies Department at Hassan II University in Casablanca, Morocco. She believes that the English studies program is the bridge between Anglo-Saxon cultures and young Muslim-Arabic minds. Her course list includes American and English literature, world literature, Arabic literature in translation and Islamic studies. Prior to this, Ms. Ouamouch completed her Masters in English and American Studies from SUNY Buffalo University in the United States on a Fulbright Scholarship. As a CELF fellow, Ms. Ouamouch is interested in starting a new affiliation on civic education and leadership at her university back home. Her goal is to make civic education a primary responsibility for English educators and she is also keen on developing new ways of improving the social conditions of her students for a more enhanced civic engagement in the society.
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NAZEK SALEH
Having earned a Ph.D in Political Sociology, Dr. Nazek Saleh comes to the CELF program from Jordan where she works as a human rights and community specialist engaging in capacity building at the local level. In addition to this, she has been working in the field of refugee project management, monitoring and evaluation as well as working in different capacities with local and international NGOs. Her interest in civil society issues and civic engagement stems directly from her expertise in local community development and her research on Palestinian and Sahrawi refugees in Jordan. In 2005, Dr. Saleh publishd a book on palestinian refugees titled 'Self Support Projects: The Social and Economic Situation in the Refugee Camps in Jordan'. She recently also participated in a research project on Modes of Governance in the Palestinian Refugee camps in the Host Countries carried out by the American University of Beirut. Dr. Saleh hopes that her experience with the CELF program will help her spread awareness about the importance of civic engagement back home in Jordan.
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IMEN YAKOUBI - TUNISIA
Ms. Imen Yakoubi joins the CELF family from Tunisia where she teaches English at the University of Jendouba. A doctoral candidate in English literature, Ms. Yakoubi is currently pursuing her Ph.D thesis on Monomyths to Rebirth: Retelling Myths, Remapping History in the fiction of Andre Brink. Her primary interests are postcolonial and postmodern literature, in addition to gender and cultural studies. Ms. Yakoubi is also interested in creative writing and has participated in a number of creative writing workshops organized by the British Council, inside and outside Tunisia. She has published several academic papers and has authored a number of short stories that have been published in magazines overseas. Ms. Yakoubi believes teachers can play a far greater role beyond provoding pedagogical training to further enhance the civic engagement dialog among students. By joining the CELF program she hopes to respond to the needs of the educational sector back home by focusing on pedagogical skills, curriculum development and enhancing student activism.
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NADA, AYMAN - EGYPT Dr. Nada is an Associate Professor of Public Opinion and International communication at the Faculty of Mass Communication, Cairo University, Egypt. His professional expertise lies in quantitative and qualitative research regarding the attitudes of public opinion, Mass Media effects, and Political Communication. He is the author of Global Communication (2006), Public Opinion and the War of Iraq (2004), and The Arabs and the Europeans: How Each Side Sees the Other (2003). He is Co-editor of both The Egyptian Journal of Public Opinion Research and The Egyptian Journal of Media Research. He has published several papers in prestigious academic journals, and participated in numerous international conferences. He has won many awards and prizes such as The Egyptian-State Honor Prize in Social Science Research (2005), The Cairo University Highest Prize in Mass Communication Research (2006), and The Egyptian Ministry for Higher Education’s fellowship to the University Of Georgia at Athens, USA (2007). Dr. Nada has earned his Ph.D. in International Communication (2001), and his MA in Media Effects (1997) from Cairo University, Egypt.
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September - December 2010 CELF Participants

ABBOUD-SYRIANI, FADY Mr. Abboud-Syriani earned his Bachelor’s degree in political science and public administration in 2004 from Lebanese University in Beirut. He then earned a Master’s degree in political science from Saint Joseph University and a Master’s degree in journalism from Lebanese University in partnership with the Institut Français de Presse (IFP) and the Centre de Formation et de Perfectionnement des Journalistes (CFPJ) in France. His main fields of interest are development and conflict studies along with citizenship issues which he teaches as a lecturer at the Antonine University. Mr. Abboud-Syriani, also, is a freelance trainer and consultant in the fields such as capacity-building, peace-building, and youth development and has a wide range of experiences in civil society, NGO work, and mass media. He is currently studying the link between the sociopolitical context of violence in Lebanon and the acceptance of torture practices by state agencies among the Lebanese citizens.
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ARABIYAT, TALAH Ms. Arabiyat comes to Maxwell School as the Vice Dean of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh College of Business at the German Jordanian University. She is also an assistant professor of Economics at the German Jordanian University. Her primary teaching and research interests include international competitiveness and strategy, cluster analysis and economic development. As a CELF Fellow, Talah will explore ways to improve the quality of education in her institution by facilitating program change and curriculum development. Ms. Arabiyat earned her M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Economics from Texas Tech University.
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BAMATRAF, AMJED Mr. Bamatraf earned his degree in Applied Linguistics in 2002 from University of Aden, Yemen. He has been a Lecturer in the English Department, Faculty of Education, at University of Aden since 2002. He also has been a Program Officer with the organization Save the Children. Mr. Bamatraf is working on his Ph.D. at Sana’a University. His thesis title is “Texture of Second Language English Discourse: Analysing Learners Vocabulary Use.”
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BASHIR, BASHIR Mr. Bashir is a research fellow at The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and an Adjunct Lecturer at the Department of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is in possession of a Ph.D. and Master’s degree in Political Theory from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Bachelor’s degree in Politics, Sociology and Anthropology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has taught Political Theory at the London School of Economics, Queen's University (Canada), and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His primary research interests are democratic theories of inclusion, multiculturalism, civic education, conflict resolution and the politics of reconciliation, historical injustices, Palestinian nationalism, and Israeli politics. Among Bashir's publications is: Will Kymlicka and Bashir Bashir (eds.), The Politics of Reconciliation in Multicultural Societies (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008). At Maxwell, he will explore new venues to further his new research on “Alternatives to Partition in Israel/Palestine”.
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AL-GHZEWAT, MOHAMMAD Mr. Al Ghzewat earned his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction in 1992 from Newcastle University. He was a post-doctoral fellow at University of Pittsburgh in 1993. Mr. Al Ghzewat is an Associate Professor at Mu’tah University and has taught Curriculum & Instruction of Social Studies, Curriculum of Kindergarten, Environmental Education, Learning Theories, and Learning Design. His main research interests are critical thinking, teacher preparation, and e-learning. He has published several papers and two books: The Teaching of Social Studies and The Critical &Creative Thinking of Kindergartens. He comes to Syracuse University to explore new teaching methods and curricula development that can be applied at his university.
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ISMAILI, NADIR Mr. Ismaili earned his Doctorate at Sorbonne Paris I in international law. Now he is a Lecturer at the University of Moulay Ismail, College of Law, and teaches Public Law and Settlement of Disputes and also Constitutional Systems. He has been a consultant for public policies with the government and an expert in legal disputes with private and public companies. He is interested in issues of sustainable development and current affairs. Mr. Ismaili has published several articles and studies regarding different public and international issues as Fixed Link between Morocco and Spain: Some Legal Aspects, published in France. He comes to the Maxwell School with the hope to improve his teaching skills and share his experiences with the SU community as well. His main areas of interest are participatory democracy, civil society, conflict resolution, politics of conciliation, and higher education in North Africa and especially in Morocco.
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KHALIL, ALI HASSAN Mr. Khalil is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Extension Education and Economics at University of Ibb, Yemen. He earned his Ph. D. in Extension Education with major focus on Human Resource Development in 2008 from University Putra, Malaysia. His primary research interests are community and Human resource development, leadership development, youth development, and adult education. He has published three papers on resource development and, also, the influence of leadership on extension workers. Mr. Khalil has been the former Secretary Editor of Population and Development Bulletin, Tihama Development Authority, and the former General Supervisor of Agricultural Engineering newspaper at Ibb University.
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MAREI, ASHRAF Mr. Marei works as a Professor on the Faculty of Physical Education at Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt. He used to teach Adapted Physical Education, which is his academic background, and Human Rights, which is his interest, to graduate and undegraduate students. He has received a Fulbright scholarship and a post-doctoral fellowship in his field. He has a physical disability and uses a wheelchair; this acquired disability was a motivation for him to become a paralympic medalist, and to hold some international and national positions in the field of sport for persons with disability (PWD). As a chairman of an active NGO for PWD, he got the chance to represent Egypt at the United Nations meetings to develop the International Convention of Rights for Persons with Disabilities. He contributes to the development of HR For PWDs in Egypt and the Arab region. He expects that his participation in the CELF program, and having the chance to exchange experiences with colleagues and faculty members, will positively add to his personal and professional capabilities.
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MUSTAFA, KHALID Mr. Mustafa is an Associate Professor of education at University of Koya, Kurdistan, Iraq. He earned his Ph.D. in Education with a specialization in Instructional Technology in 2005 from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIU-M). His main area of interest is educational reform. Mr. Mustafa is author of several articles on issues such as educational system in Iraq and Kurdish history. Also, he has translated some Kurdish poems to Arabic.
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NADA, AYMAN Dr. Nada is an Associate Professor of Public Opinion and International Communication at the Faculty of Mass Communication, Cairo University, Egypt. His professional expertise lies in quantitative and qualitative research regarding the attitudes of public opinion, Mass Media effects, and Political Communication. He is the author of Global Communication (2006), Public Opinion and the War of Iraq (2004), and The Arabs and the Europeans: How Each Side Sees the Other (2003). He is Co-editor of both The Egyptian Journal of Public Opinion Research and The Egyptian Journal of Media Research. He has published several papers in prestigious academic journals, and participated in numerous international conferences. He has won many awards and prizes such as The Egyptian-State Honor Prize in Social Science Research (2005), The Cairo University Highest Prize in Mass Communication Research (2006), and The Egyptian Ministry for Higher Education’s fellowship to the University Of Georgia at Athens, USA (2007). Dr. Nada has earned his Ph.D. in International Communication (2001), and his MA in Media Effects (1997) from Cairo University, Egypt.
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RADI, AZIZ Dr. Radi received his PhD in Pragmatics from the Marc Bloch Humanities University in Strasbourg, France. While preparing his doctoral dissertation, he started a teaching career in France. He has been teaching Business, Marketing and Financial English in private as well as public institutions. He also authored two English language manuals: Speaking Already (2005) and First Steps into English (2007). He followed a Language Methodology Training Course at Chester College in the United Kingdom. He worked on the perception of North Africans in the French & European press and media. In this regard, he has been invited as a research fellow and guest lecturer to the Center of Refugees Studies, Oxford University, UK. While exploring the complex facets of immigration, he tackled issues like citizenship, civic engagement, identity and culture shocks. Mr. Radi’s research focuses on the impact of educational values in the construction and influence of attitudes and behaviors. He is currently a Business English Lecturer at the Faculty of Law in the Economics Department, Qadi Ayyad University in Marrakesh, Morocco.
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AL-SHWEIHAT, SAFA Mrs. Shweihat joins the Maxwell community from German Jordanian University where she teaches national and civic education. Her Ph.D. is in the sociocultural fundamentals of education with 20 years of experience in teaching civic engagement in Jordan. In addition, she worked in Jordan as the Advisor of the Humanities and Social Sciences Sector at the Higher Council of Sciences and Technology (HCST) and Jubilee School. Mrs. Shweihat has published two books adopted as university textbooks in the field of civic and national education. She also contributed and published numerous research papers on the role of the educational system in enabling leadership and social change. Her vision is that, despite serious efforts and good intentions of governments in developing countries, the real social change cannot be achieved without enhancing the educational policies. The responsibility of educational institutions is leading the social improvement by providing opportunities for practical experiences, empowering the generations to act their roles as effective citizens in all aspects of life. During the fellowship in Maxwell school, Mrs. Shweihat plans to work on taking an overview of Maxwell curriculum for the civic education, democracy and the relevant activities conducted by the student's union at SU. She hopes she will be able to compose a Student’s Manual for Good Citizenship to establish a modern pattern of community service for student's volunteering activities and develop an educational introduction for teaching civic education based on the sociocultural fundamentals.
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January - May 2010 CELF Participants
AL-ATTAR, GHADA
Ghada Al-Attar comes to Syracuse University from Egypt where she most recently was a lecturer in the Public Health and Community Medicine Department at Assiut University in Egypt. While at Maxwell she wishes to study how leadership development, civic engagement and health economics can be utilized as tools to educate and expand coalitions in order to address public health issues. With this knowledge she will return to Egypt to implement some of these strategies in order to empower those involved with the public health sector. Dr. Al-Attar earned her doctorate in Public Health and Community Medicine at Assiut University. Her dissertation is entitled, “Are mobile clinics attaining their reproductive health service objectives at the satellites of Assiut Governorate villages?”.
ELSHEIKH, ALIAA
Aliaa Elsheikh joins the Maxwell community from Alexandria University where she most recently was a assistant lecturer of Public Health in the Community Medicine Department. Her work involved teaching an array of public health topics and supervising various student activities in this sector. As well as training for leadership at the Egyptian Ministry of Health. During her fellowship at Syracuse she plans a focus on civil society and students’ engagement projects in relation to the health care field. Dr. Elsheikh earned her Master of Public Health from Alexandria University as well as a Diploma in Health Care management from the American University of Cairo.
HASSAN, KAMAL
Kamal Hassan comes to Maxwell from The Open University in Israel, where he is a lecturer on Arab society in Israel. He also was recently a lecturer on Islam, Israel and its Arab citizens and the Palestinian society at the academic college of Emek Yezreel. Mr. Hassan believes that actions of individuals reflect the society at large. While at Syracuse, Mr. Hassan will further pursue his interest in civic engagement as it relates to Islam, democracy and civil society, especially within Israel. His research interest is also in a citizen’s responsibility towards government and the need for greater civic engagement. He is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Political Science, Department of Middle East Studies at Tel-Aviv University.
HOURANI, GUITA
Guita Hourani arrives at Syracuse University as the director of the Lebanese Emigration Research Center at Notre Dame University in Lebanon. She has an interest in citizenship and naturalization laws in multi-religious and conflict ridden societies (particularly in Lebanon and the Middle East), religion and diasporas, and out-of-country voting. While at Maxwell and when she returns to Lebanon, Ms. Hourani’s goals include participatory democracy and capacity-building especially as it relates to migration. Ms. Hourani is a Ph.D. candidate at Laboraoire Migrinter, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France. Her dissertation is entitled, “Impact of Naturalization on Socio-economic Mobility among the Kurds in Lebanon.”
JABEREEN, AMAL
Amal Jabareen is a member of the Faculty of Law from Ono Academic College. He has an interest in information technology, internet policy and the digital divide. He wishes to research this digital divide from the perspective of Jews and Arabs in Israel using his background in both computer engineering and the law. He plans to return to Ono Academic College to establish a legal clinic that incorporates civic engagement and parity within Internet access and usage. Dr. Jabareen earned his Ph.D. in law from Bar-Ilan University. His dissertation was entitled, “Economic Analysis of Consumer Protection Laws in Digital Markets.”
RAYAN, SOBHI
Sobhi Rayan joins Maxwell from Alqasemi Academy College in Baka AL-qarbiyh, Israel, where he is a Lecturer in the Department of Education. His current research includes the concept of multiculturalism in Islam and educating students within the realm of human values. He also has an interest in the benefits of dialogue and how people of different religious beliefs can find common ground, addressing conflict through peace building rather than violence. Dr. Rayan earned his doctorate from Haifa University. His dissertation was entitled, “Ibn Taymiyya’s Criticism of Aristotelian Logic.”
RAYMOND, MYRIAM
Myriam Raymond comes to Syracuse University from the Université Française d’Egypte, where she is an instructor and a faculty advisor for several student projects and activities. She is a doctoral candidate at the Université de Nantes in France. Her dissertation is entitled“BPO Outsourcing in Banks: Measuring the Impact of IS flexibility and Standardization Features.” She has an interest in civic engagement and community involvement. She also sees the importance of utilizing online social networks to target youth and other demographic populations for the purpose of collective social action. Upon returning to the Université Française d’Egypte, she plans on creating networks of universities by utilizing technology to address some of the issues facing Egyptian society.
ZOGHAIB, SHAIMAA
Shaimaa Zoghaib is an associate professor in the Faculty of Mass Communication at Cairo University. She has an interest in the relationship between media and civic engagement and the role media can play in achieving political reform in Egyptian society. Additionally, she has conducted research in the relationship between mass media exposure and different political phenomena in the Egyptian society such as: political alienation, cynicism, political participation, political efficiency and civic engagement. While at Maxwell she aims to learn new theories and methods relating to media, civic engagement and curriculum development. Dr. Zoghaib earned her Ph.D. from Cairo University. Her dissertation was entitled, “Television and Press Coverage of the Public Issues and the Public Opinion Attitudes toward these Issues.”
August - December 2009 CELF Participants
Arfaoui Khemais
Mr. Khemais has been a professional journalist for more than 15 years in Tunisia. He has held the position of editor of the economic pages in the newspaper Essahafa since 2000 and prior to that was the head of the environment and development pages of the newspaper. His academic background includes studies in sociology and a degree in journalism and information sciences. While he is in the U.S. as a CELF scholar, Mr. Khemais will focus on how the human sciences and professional journalism can help guarantee the civic engagement of citizens.
Haykel Ben Mahfoudh
Mr. Ben Mahfoudh earned his Ph.D. in Public International Law in 2005 from Tunis II in Tunisia. He has been the recipient of several international grants and fellowships, including a Fulbright Scholarship, and was a Post-doctoral Fellow with the faculty of law, political and social sciences in 2008. He has practiced law since 1996 with expertise in international law litigations, contract law, and economic law, among other areas. For the last three years, he has also been an associate professor in the departments of Public Law and Political Science, Tunis - Tunisia. His research interests include constitutional law, political systems and fundamental rights, and non-State actors, NGOs and Civil Society. His two published books focus on the topics of environmental protection during a time of armed conflict and the NGO phenomenon in Tunisia and Morocco.
Sofiene Mallouli
Mr. Mallouli is a Ph.D. Student in the Department of Linguistics at LaMannouba University in Tunisia. He teaches linguistics, translation, teaching pedagogy, and methodology at present and in the past has taught composition, business English, English for design students, and also general English at a secondary school. His areas of research are agenda setting and framing in media research, and British civilization, history, and culture. He hopes that he can participate in increasing the quality of the learning environment of his institution of higher learning and is focused on how civic engagement could help solve social problems and foster participatory democracy in Tunisia.
Rebwar Karim Mahmood
Mr. Mahmood is a Ph.D. student in International Affairs at Sulaimanyah University in Iraq. He earned his MA in International Relations and a BA in Political Science. He has been a lecturer for courses in political parties and public opinion, political development and the Third World, history of the contemporary world, history of neighbors of Iraq, and human development. He also was a Civil Society Trainer for the American Developing Foundation – Iraq Civil Society Program in 2006 and has a wide range of experiences in NGO work and mass media, writing and publishing. He is particularly interested in the development of updated curricula in political science.
Heja Sindi
Mr. Sindi earned his Ph.D in Business Administration from the University of Salahaddin, Iraq (2005). He is presently a lecturer in the Department of Business, Management, Economics and Finance at the University of Kurdistan Hawler, UKH teaching courses in Organization Theory, Public Management and Operations Management. He has held a wide range of academic and administrative positions, including the Head Department of Commerce and Banking Sciences at the University of Dohuk and a facilitator and advisor in the local government training program LGP in RTI/USAID. His research interest focuses on Business Process Management, Knowledge Management and Strategic Management in both Business Administration and Public Management areas. He believes in the need for public managers with a business orientation in Iraq. This would promote for more Citizen vs. Customer and Citizen Participation values in relation to Democracy and Human Rights. Dr. Sindi would like through the CELF program to further enrich his experience in research, developing curriculum in educational institutions and training programs in the Public Management/Administration and Business Administration areas.
Lobna Cherif
Ms. Cherif is a teacher of English at the High Institute of Human Sciences in Tunis, Tunisia. She has held that position since 2000. Currently she is also a Ph.D. student at the University of Manouba working on a doctorate in the area of transcultural literature, more specifically, on Eastern and Western (Mis)representation in Media, Literature, and Travelogues. Her Master’s and Bachelor’s Degrees are in English and she has previous teaching experience in secondary schools. She is interested in improved curricula development and course delivery, with the goal of greater civic engagement in solving social problems and fostering participatory democracy in Tunisia.