AMMAN, March 22, 2009 — In a concerted effort to deepen its extensive global perspective, Columbia University is establishing a Columbia Global Center in Amman, Jordan. This center is among the first of what the university plans as a network of centers around the world to promote and facilitate international collaborations, new research projects, academic programming and study abroad, enhancing Columbia’s historical commitment to global scholarship.
Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah and Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger are delivering welcoming and opening remarks.
“Columbia University is proud to mark the opening of the Columbia Global Centers | Amman,” says President Bollinger. “It is essential to a great university that our students and faculty know and understand more about our world and we are committed to providing new opportunities to deepen our engagement with scholars, ideas and challenges across the globe. We are especially grateful for the strong encouragement and support we have received from His Majesty King Abdullah and Her Majesty Queen Rania in the creation of this center. As a member of the International Advisory Council and of the Columbia University Middle East Research Center Advisory Board, Her Majesty has a special appreciation for our commitment to educational excellence and international understanding.”
After the opening remarks, a panel of experts will address the topic of sustainable development in the Middle East. The panel features Rajenda K. Pachauri, director of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the Nobel Prize for peace in 2007; Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of Columbia’s Earth Institute; Sheikh Salem Bin Khalid Al Qassimi, associate planner for the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council in the United Arab Emirates; and Alessandra Giannini, associate research scientist at the Earth Institute.
His Excellency Nader Dahabi, prime minister of Jordan, will then make remarks in advance of a panel discussion surveying perspectives on the Obama presidency, moderated by Rashid Khalidi, professor of modern Arab studies at Columbia. Joining the discussion are Alan Brinkley, provost of Columbia; Lisa Anderson, provost of American University in Cairo and former dean of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs; Daniel C. Kurtzer, former U.S. ambassador to Egypt and to Israel, and current chair of Middle East studies at Princeton; and Jim Muir, BBC’s Middle East correspondent.
While some U.S. universities have built new branch campuses and degree-granting schools abroad, Columbia is taking a different path. The Columbia Global Centers will provide flexible regional hubs for a wide range of activities and resources intended to enhance the quality of research and learning at the university and around the world. The focus is on establishing a network of partnerships in international capitals to address complex global challenges collaboratively by bringing together scholars, students, public officials, private enterprise, and innovators from a broad range of fields.
“Having a base in Amman allows us to extend Columbia’s network by building bridges throughout the region,” said Safwan Masri, director of the center in Amman. “The collaboration and educational partnerships we can create benefits all our constituent communities — Columbia, Jordan, the Middle East, and the global community of scholars more broadly. We’re creating a sort of live-in laboratory for the region with opportunities for students, faculty and partners to dig in and truly engage.”
The Amman center will leverage the university’s diverse intellectual capacities from across the liberal arts and professional schools, including independent Columbia affiliates Teachers College and Barnard College. Another Columbia Global Center officially opened this week in Beijing, China. To maintain and build on its already active international presence, Columbia envisions the future establishment of four to six additional research centers abroad in the years ahead.