Tribune News Network
Doha
Dr Safwan M Masri was welcomed as the new dean of Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) at a celebratory reception held on the university’s Education City campus on October 2.
Masri, who will also serve as Distinguished Professor of the Practice at Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS), was drawn to GU-Q campus for its unique role at the frontiers of higher education in the Middle East, commitment to the common good, and its values of “developing minds, discovering truth and engaging with the world”.
Representing Georgetown’s Washington, DC campus at the reception was Provost Robert Groves, who praised Dean Masri’s global outlook and deep experience working in academic contexts around the world. “Drawing on his extensive record of institutional leadership, Dean Masri will play a key role in furthering GU-Q’s educational aspirations, cutting-edge research endeavours, and professional development programmes, enhancing GU-Q’s service to education and Qatar,” he said.
In his address, Provost Groves also extended his deep gratitude to Interim Dean and Professor Clyde Wilcox for his leadership, and for his long record as a scholar and dedicated teacher in the classroom.
Masri previously served as executive vice president for Global Centres and Global Development at Columbia University, where he oversaw its network of nine global centres that span four continents. Masri was also a senior research scholar at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs and prior to that was vice dean and professor at Columbia Business School.
His record of leadership includes improving global access to quality education. At Columbia, Masri established the University Scholarship for Displaced Students. In Jordan, he guided the establishment of King’s Academy, an independent co-educational boarding school, and later designed and founded the Queen Rania Teacher Academy for public school educators from the region.
Masri received his PhD in industrial engineering and engineering management from Stanford University, and his BS and MS from Purdue University.
He is a scholar, political commentator, and author on geopolitics and society in the Middle East and North Africa. His first book ‘Tunisia: An Arab Anomaly’ was published in 2017; a second, titled ‘The Arab: Identity and its Politics’, is expected to be completed in 2023.
