AUK Announces Competitive Fellowship Program at Dartmouth College

The American University of Kuwait (AUK) is initiating a competitive Summer Fellowship program at Dartmouth College for faculty and senior administrators beginning next year. Fellows will spend up to one month on Dartmouth's Hanover, New Hampshire campus.

The Fellowship competition will be open to AUK faculty members conducting research that can be facilitated by access to Dartmouth's libraries and museum collections, or to senior administrators pursuing professional development projects that can be guided by Dartmouth mentors. Recipients of the fellowships will receive travel support and a stipend from AUK.

"This new program will strengthen the ties between Dartmouth and the American University of Kuwait," said President Marina Tolmacheva. The two institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2003 and recently agreed to extend their collaboration for a new five-year term (2008-2013). "Over the past five years," Tolmacheva added, "Dartmouth consultants have helped establish AUK as a quality private institution of higher education in Kuwait, committed to providing a liberal arts education that prepares students for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century."

The first Fellowship will be awarded for summer 2009. Application forms and guidelines will be made available in September 2008. The selection criteria will include the proposal's promise of research outcomes or professional development, alignment with the Strategic Planning goals of AUK, a project timeline, and appropriate use of Dartmouth resources.

Dartmouth Provost Barry Scherr, who is in Kuwait this month as the main commencement speaker for the AUK Class of 2008 said, "I am delighted that these fellowships are going forward. At Dartmouth we care deeply about educating leaders for a global society. The AUK Fellows will bring an important international perspective to our campus and this will be a valuable addition to the growing list of collaborative programs between our two institutions."

Dr. Dale Eickelman, the Relationship Coordinator and Ralph and Richard Lazarus Professor of Human Relations at Dartmouth said "By providing more ways for individuals on both campuses to work closely together, we strengthen our shared commitment to advancing the liberal arts." Scherr and Eickelman are also meeting with the AUK Board of Trustees, with faculty, students, and staff while in Kuwait.