3:36 p.m., Sept. 24, 2008----When Zoubeida Dagher, UD professor of education, was asked to serve as deputy dean in the College of Education at Qatar University, it was a challenge she says she couldn't refuse.

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“I felt I could make a contribution to the college in helping with professional development, research and accreditation,” Dagher, whose field is science education, said. She has many ties with the American University of Beirut, which suggested her for the position.

“The timing was right, as well. My two children are young and could adjust well, and my husband could take his work with him. We were provided with a nice house, found a good school for the children, and I even had a driver who took me to work everyday,” Dagher said.

Qatar is a wealthy country about twice the size of Delaware and borders Saudi Arabia, Dagher said. It is governed by an emir, Sheikh Hammad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, who is interested in promoting scientific research and initiatives in other fields. Approximately 80 percent of the population is guest workers from professionals to day laborers. The religion is Islam, with the women wearing traditional black headscarves and abaya (long black cloaks) and the men wearing white ghotra (head-covers) and thobe (long dresses).

The public schools in Qatar are separated by sex, and Qatar University has male and female campuses. At the college level, however, women and men faculty teach male and female students. Women have succeeded in the field of education--the dean of the college is a woman and so is the president, Dagher said.

“A lot has been happening in Qatar in the past few years,” Dagher said. “National curriculum standards were put into place, English replaced Arabic as the language of instruction in science and mathematics in schools, and schools were given more individual freedom so there have been many changes and challenges for teachers.

“All in all, it was a rewarding year working with the dean and faculty teams to accomplish a great deal,” Dagher said. “We installed a mentoring plan between college faculty and school teachers, held workshops for professional development and encouraged collaborative research and applying for competitive grants. In general, we helped raise the morale of faculty and teachers and helped establish the college as a leader in education.”

Dagher was a keynote speaker at the first action research conference, participated in a higher education conference and attended the first Conference of Arab Expatriate Scientists, which charted plans for supporting scientific research in biomedical, environmental and information technology. The emir has dedicated 2.8 percent of Qatar's Gross Domestic Product to scientific research and related fields, Dagher said.

Qatar University is the only public university in the country, but other universities have a presence there, such as Cornell Medical School, Northwestern and Carnegie Mellon, Dagher said.

Dagher said that she feels there many opportunities for UD in Qatar and the Persian Gulf region in terms of study abroad programs, collaborative research projects, faculty and student exchange programs and providing technical expertise that fit in with UD's Global Initiative.

Dagher is a graduate of Beirut University College, has her master's degree from the American University of Beirut and her doctorate from the University of Iowa. Since joining the UD faculty in 1989, she has served as a visiting professor at Lebanese University, visiting scholar at Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia, and has received a National Academy of Education Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Article by Sue Moncure