The American University of Iraq-Baghdad (AUIB) and Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development launched a partnership initiative, financed by a 2.5 million USD grant from the US Department of State, dedicated to “developing a unique and powerful program to revolutionize K-12 (Kindergarten through 12th grade) education in Iraq,” announced AUIB President, Dr. Michael Mulnix.
President Mulnix’s announcement came at a broadcast discussion at AUIB campus with a visiting Vanderbilt delegation, consisting of Dr. Ellen Goldring, Executive Associate Dean of Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Dr. Xiu Cravens, Associate Dean for International Students and Affairs, and Dr. Nancy Dickson, Director Hubert Humphrey Program.
Vanderbilt University is ranked 13th in the United States, and its Peabody College has always ranked among the top ten education colleges in the country, pointed out Dr. Goldring, highlighting the College’s focus on empirical research as the cornerstone of its academic excellence. “Peabody is committed to making a difference” and to building cross-cultural bridges, especially in “strategic places” around the world, said Dr. Goldring, maintaining that the partnership with AUIB is “enriching in both directions” and “would benefit Vanderbilt as well,” by virtue of collaborating with AUIB’s international faculty and drawing upon Iraq’s rich cultural heritage. The joint project entails not only teaching students and training teachers, but also administrators and school principals, explained Dr. Goldring, speaking of developing a new system of education that spans “policy, implementation, and support,” serving to “shift the mindset” in education and nurture “instructional leaders.”
The ultimate goal of the joint project is to build a “learner-centered and community-centered” model of education that works towards “enlarging democracies and economies,” said Dr. Cravens. Efforts at achieving such a grand and ambitious task would have a “strong base” of support, manifest in AUIB cadre’s rich cultural heritage, talent, international expertise, and most importantly “commitment,” making the University a “promising place” that offers novel opportunities for youth, added Dr. Cravens, saying, “we see a long-term future” for the partnership between AUIB and Vanderbilt.