The College of Education and Human Development’s Center for the Advancement of Higher Education in Iraq (CAHEI) at the American University of Iraq-Baghdad (AUIB), in collaboration with Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development, organized a CAHEI Fellowship Program Convening event, bringing together CAHEI Fellows and some of Iraq’s and USA’s higher education leaders.
The event, attended by officials at Iraq’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the United States’ embassy in Baghdad, provided an opportunity of meaningful interaction among higher education leaders and university faculty and staff engaged in the fellowship program, contributing to efforts at charting CAHEI’s future course, but also celebrating CAHEI Fellows’ work and AUIB’s commitment to academic and administrative excellence.
Systems are what set advanced countries apart; at AUIB, we are building systems to produce the future leaders of Iraq—a great nation that is the heir to ancient Mesopotamia, which gave humanity law, science, technology, and a great humanistic tradition thousands of years ago, said AUIB Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Zouhair Atieh, at the opening of the event.
Dr. Xiu Cravens, Associate Dean for International Students and Affairs at Peabody, outlined the broad framework of the fellowship program and its overarching theme: building the professional capacities of faculty and staff, targeting “educational and economic empowerment.” She highlighted the main foci of this competency-building agenda: fostering self-awareness and a growth mindset, establishing transparent and collaborative practices, empowering data-informed decision-making, and adopting a learner-centered approach.