News

In the Fall 2014 semester, Alison Larkin Koushki, faculty member in the Intensive English Program at the American University of Kuwait (AUK), introduced her students to Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," the canonic novel about the scientist who succeeds in bringing to life a monster he created out of body-parts of the deceased. The novel inspired the students to create a monster of their own - a monster of a performance, that is - which they had managed to prepare for the members of the AUK community in time for Halloween. This performance marked the fourth time that Koushki has inspired her students to engage in a novel and then "Bring Reading to Life" through the arts of drawing, video collage, choreography, and acting.

There were three stages to the performance. In the first stage, student actors performed the scene in which Frankenstein's monster comes to life, attacks his Creator Dr. Frankenstein, and a struggle ensues. This gave the students an opportunity to display their interpretation of the emotions and reactions of that iconic scene. "During the reading [of the novel], students empathized with the plight of the characters in the Frankenstein family, getting involved with their hopes and dreams, as well as their fears and frustrations," explained Koushki.

The second stage of the performance took the story to the 1980s, where dancers dressed as ghouls interrupted the scuffle between Frankenstein and his monster, and the cast began a choreographed dance to Michael Jackson's 1980s hit "Beat It!". When the song reached the end, 5 actresses dressed as the Brides of Frankenstein emerged from the Sciences Building and each paired with a dancer as the music switched to the tune set for the third stage.

The third and final stage was interactive. As the music had switched to the theme song from the movie "Saw," audience members were caught off-guard when the performers suddenly pounced on them to generate genuine reactions.

It required several teams of students managing different areas in addition to acting and choreography, such as artwork and academic writing, among others, to work closely together to produce this student-led performance. AUK President Dr. Nizar Hamzeh attended the performance, along with Dr. Rawda Awwad, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, and Ms. Sandra Stein, Director of IEP.

To celebrate the success of the event, Mrs. Alison arranged for a ceremony to recognize the students' contributions to the "Bringing Reading to Life" show by distributing AUK Certificates of Appreciation to all who participated. "Whether their task was acting, choreography, academic writing for display, arranging artwork, costumes, publicity, photography, project management, or security, everybody had a direct hand in the success of this initiative, and it was a pleasure to have IEP Director Ms. Sandy Stein present at the ceremony," expressed Mrs. Alison.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 22nd January 2015

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2015

Dr. Raymond Farrin, Chair of the Department of Arabic and Foreign Languages at the American University of Kuwait (AUK), and Associate Professor of Arabic Language and Literature, released his latest book Structure and Qur'anic Interpretation: A Study of Symmetry and Coherence in Islam's Holy Text in 2014, published by White Cloud Press.

In his book, Dr. Farrin illustrates how the Qur'an, whose structure has often been regarded as unsystematic, does in fact feature a comprehensive design, one that is characterized by a network of symmetries.

Dr. Farrin's book was welcomed with acclaim from a number of scholars. Dale F. Eickelman, Ralph and Richard Lazarus Professor of Anthropology and Human Relations at Dartmouth College wrote: "Structure and Qur'anic Interpretation draws on social anthropology, literary analysis, and a wide reading of predecessors and contemporaries to offer an engagingly readable account of how structure relates to content in Islam's key text. Simultaneously emphatic and critical, Farrin's new book invites readers to understand the Qur'an from a fresh perspective."

In November 2014, Dr. Farrin was interviewed by Abdur-Rahman Abou Almajd for Alukah.net, a website dedicated to intellectual and cultural exchange amongst scholars and experts. In the interview, Farrin explained that while he was conducting his research in classical Arabic literature and poetry, he was inspired to look into the fundamental text in Arabic, the Holy Qur'an. Given his interest and background, he decided to take a literary approach. He explained he was surprised to find that many Orientalists often criticize the Qur'an for lacking in structure, and provided examples of where in the Qur'an structure can be found.

"Following the work of researchers such as Michel Cuypers and Mustansir Mir, who have discovered symmetrical patterns in parts of the Qur'an, I proceeded to look for a similar structural logic in the Qur'an as a whole," Farrin explained.

Dr. Raymond Farrin studied Arabic in Cairo and received a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of Abundance from the Desert: Classical Arabic Poetry (Syracuse UP, 2011). In 2014, he helped launch the Faculty Speaker Series at AUK, an initiative that offers the opportunity for members of the AUK faculty to share their scholarly activities, and discuss books that they have released.

To read the full interview by Abdur-Rahman Abou Almajd for Alukah.net, click here.
Book Description and Reviews courtesy of www.whitecloudpress.com

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 14th January 2015

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2015

The American University of Kuwait (AUK) held its semi-annual President's Honor Roll and Dean's Honor List ceremony in recognition of top student academic achievers for the Spring 2014 Semester. The ceremony was held in the AUK Auditorium, where students, parents, AUK faculty members and staff, as well as members of the AUK Board Trustees attended the ceremony to support the students being recognized. AUK President Professor Dr. Nizar Hamzeh and the colleges' deans were present to honor the students and celebrate their achievements.

The ceremony commenced with opening remarks from President Hamzeh, in which he expressed his pride in celebrating the academic achievements of AUK students.

Following a students' procession, each of the students in the different excellence categories was called to the stage, where they accepted their awards from President Hamzeh and the college deans.

21 students were awarded a place on the President's Honor Roll by the Interim President, a high distinction exclusively awarded to those who maintained a 4.0 GPA for the term, while 89 students were recognized for achieving the Dean's Honor List; a distinction awarded by the College Deans to students who maintained a minimum GPA of 3.7. Dr. Rawda Awwad, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS), and Dr. John Russel, Interim Dean of the College of Business & Economics (CBE) presented the recipients with their awards.

Congratulations to the following achievers:

President's Honor Roll Awardees

Dean's Honor List Awardees

College of Arts & Sciences

College of Business & Economics

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 13th January 2015

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2015

The Department of Music and Drama at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) held a Faculty Piano Recital by Dr. Stephanie Cheng, a Steinway Artist from New York. The concert was held at the AUK Auditorium, where more than 250 guests attended, including HH the Ambassador of Poland and HH the Ambassador of South Korea.

The concert featured a variety of works created by legendary composers, such as Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, among others. "Her playing was beautiful and touching, in particularly The Ballade, by my favorite Polish composer Chopin!," said HH the Polish Ambassador, Mr. Grzegorz Olszak. Dr. David Miller, Assistant Professor of Music at Gulf University for Science & Technology (GUST), also attended the event. He described Dr. Cheng's playing as "a beautiful flow of expression."

Being a Steinway Artist puts Dr. Cheng in the same club as some of today's popular musicians who are known to play pianos built by Steinway & Sons, like Harry Connick Jr. and Diana Krall. She became a member of the faculty of The Department of Music & Drama at AUK in 2012. Before coming to Kuwait, Dr. Cheng performed extensively in the U.S., France, Italy, Japan, and Taiwan and gained great critical acclaim for her performances. Her solo and collaborative engagements have given her opportunities to perform at some of the world's major music settings including Carnegie Hall in New York, National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., National Concert Hall of Taipei, and Opera City Hall of Tokyo.

The Department of Music and Drama offers a wide range of opportunities for both beginning and advanced students within the context of a liberal arts education. The Music and Drama faculty of talented professionals work closely with students to prepare them for campus concerts and plays, and to academically challenge them in courses on performing arts. The department fosters artistic proficiency, cultural appreciation, a sense of community, and a lifelong commitment to the arts.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 23rd December 2014

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2014

Dr. Cheng performing

The Center for Continuing Education at the American University of Kuwait is launching its first homegrown Leadership & Supervisory Skills Certificate Program, under the title: "Emerging Leaders" Certificate Program. The program will be offered to the public for the first time starting Spring Semester 2015.

The program has been developed in early 2014 and is offered exclusively for corporations on a customized basis. During the past few months, CCE worked with their program instructors and program development coordinators to create a "fit for purpose program" to accommodate the developmental needs for all middle management professionals in any industry.

In this transformational program participants will study 8 modules throughout the course. The program will start with an introductory model on leadership and will proceed to cover areas such as: Communication in the Workplace, Building and Leading High Performance Teams, Conflict Resolution, Exceptional Customer Care, Creative Problem Solving, Motivational Leadership, Achieving Successful Results, Human Intelligences and Wellbeing and Carving the Leader Within.

Instructions will be delivered at the American University of Kuwait by Dr. Amar A Behbehani, holder of a Ph.D. from Florida State University [FSU], who will focus on developing the leadership skills of the individual within and Dr. Stacey Al-Ghawas, holder of a PHD from University of California at Santa Barbara, will work on developing the technical and management skills required from a leader in the business environment.

Participants will receive a Professional Certificate upon completion of this program from the Center for Continuing Education at American University of Kuwait.

The participants can enroll in the program either from the 18th to the 22nd of January 2015 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm or from the 25th of January to the 9th of February 2015 from 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm. With an option for early registration discount and group discounts when registering before 23rd Dec. 2014.

For more information on the program, please visit www.auk.edu.kw/cce/cce_main.jsp

About CCE:

The Center for Continuing Education strives to deliver quality learning and development programs and services through a diverse team of AUK professors and instructors with extensive experience in order to positively impact Kuwait professional society.

CCE offers a range of internationally certified professional development programs in Leadership, Business and Management, Technology and Personal Development, including the option to fully customize Business and Leadership programs to meet the needs of the corporate sector. CCE also offers an array of short workshops specifically tailored for working professionals, on subjects such as communication skills, problem-solving, conflict resolution, teamwork, critical thinking, and leadership, organization and time management. In addition to a series of Teacher's workshops and a certified TESOL program.

Aside from Business and General academic English courses, CCE offers languages such as Arabic, French and Spanish, and exam preparation courses for IELTS, TOEFL and GMAT. Proctoring services are also available throughout the year for international exams, and for universities and examining bodies worldwide.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 18th December 2014

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2014

The American University of Kuwait participated in the UN World Cities Day, held during November on the premises of the Yarmouk Eco-Friendly Park. World Cities Day is an initiative created by UN-Habitat an agency under the United Nations that encourages cities and towns to evaluate themselves and what they have to offer their communities. The AUK delegation was led by Professor William Andersen from the Department of Art and Graphic Design (GDES) and Dr. Detlef Hummes of the Department of Computer Engineering.

Hesah Al-Jenfawi an AUK students from the department of Computer Engineering at AUK showcased a poster about urban e-mobility and how the method can be applied in the computer engineering context. It presented the conclusion of all term papers that were created during Dr. Hummes' spring course, 'Environmental Aspects of Energy.'

"It was very impressive, that even in an oil producing country can utilize the use of alternative resources which is more economic in the long-term," stated Dr. Hummes.

Students from the Department of Graphic Design showed their support of this initiative by setting a variety of display's composed entirely of artwork created by using recycled and reused materials to help convey the message behind the initiative during the two day celebration. The showcased artwork had been created in the Art courses taught by Professor Andersen and Dr. George Bauer.

Aya Kandil, a junior Graphic Design major planning to graduate in spring 2016, was one of the students who lent their talents to the cause. She designed the posters for the exhibition and assisted the students in displaying their works.

"I had a good chance to present and produce a poster for such an important event which will make a difference in my portfolio. This experience also allowed me to observe and understand the public perception about both, the event and the projects. I hope to see AUK's presence there every year," said, Aya Kandil.

Moustafa El Khashab, a recent graduate in Graphic Design, created a car and a motorcycle made from discarded household and hardware items to promote and reuse recycling awareness since this experience strengthened his belief that items and materials are not being used to their full potential and can be repurposed instead of discarded.

"Man has always consumed what's around him leaving behind a trail of used materials and items. This world was created in a way where nothing goes to waste and everything is always recycled into a new form of greater value. In order for the future generations not to drown in waste created in the past we should take action to reuse and recycle old items and materials into new and more valuable items that have a positive effect on our quality of life," highlighted El Khashab.

Ms. Al-Radhi UN-Habitat's Programme Communication and Advocacy Associate, ended by saying, "Part of UN-Habitat's pillars is to include involving communities into civic engagement initiatives to allow residents to give back and have a say, to how they continuously would like to up-lift their stable communities towards sustainable urban developments."

She concluded that this celebration aims to educate communities around Kuwait of how they can empower their districts to plan for future change that are adaptable for residents of their communities.

The World Habitat Day was established in 1985 and has been celebrated annually, at different scales, across the globe each October since. Each year a theme is assigned to mark the day, and in 2014, the theme was Leading Urban Transformation. The event was organized by the United Nations Human Settlements Program-Habitat and sponsored by Ooreedoo Kuwait, and the Kuwait Capital Governorate. The Yarmouk Eco-Friendly Park is located in Block 2 in Al-Yarmouk residential area, and it is entirely furnished by using recycled and repurposed items.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 17th December 2014

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2014

The American University of Kuwait (AUK) organized its annual Faculty Recognition Evening to celebrate the scholarly contributions made by its faculty members. The event took place at the Marina Hotel Six Palms restaurant and was attended by AUK board member, Mr. Samer Khanachet, the Group Chief Operating Officer of KIPCO Holding and AUK board member, and former Board member, Dr. Jawad Behbehani, the Dean of the College of Dentistry at Kuwait University.

AUK President, Professor Dr. Nizar Hamzeh welcomed the faculty members and guests to the Recognition Evening that was prepared in their honor. During his opening remarks, Dr. Hamzeh said "AUK continues to provide conference funding and research grants in support of faculty professional development". He added, "our research and scholarship productivity has increased by 30% from that of last year". Dr. Hamzeh attributed the significant increase in scholarly works to faculty members who have made significant contributions throughout the last year.

This year, AUK recognized 62 faculty members whose research and creative work produced 4 books, 7 book chapters, 45 journal articles, 4 book reviews, 90 conference papers, and 28 exhibitions/designs/ performances. AUK also recognized faculty members who received external grants and fellowships.

The faculty members who contributed to this success are:

AUK congratulates its faculty members on their great achievements!

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 15th December 2014

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2014

The students of the American University of Kuwait (AUK) Refuse to be Ordinary. In keeping with its commitment to service, AUK launched an annual thematic service campaign "AUKause". Each year, students will choose a cause and devote the entire academic year to addressing the cause through service activities and engagement. The inaugural theme for the 2014-2015 academic year is Save the Children; a year-long campaign that promotes the welfare of children through various activities.

This December's Save the Children theme was Kid Car Safety under the slogan #BeKauseImLoved. Throughout the month, the American United School of Kuwait (AUS) will join efforts with AUK to teach kids the principles of road safety through a variety of events. The campaign kicked off with a trip to the Porsche Kids Driving School (PKDS), in which 190 children, from KG to Grade 2 students at AUS, got an opportunity to learn about road safety. Accompanied by AUK student volunteers and AUS teachers, the kids were allowed to drive down the Porsche school tracks while following the safety regulations they have been taught.

"The Porsche event was a great way to teach road safety. Students were able to experience the road and follow traffic laws, as their parents do each day. I also saw 3 students during recess today holding hands to cross the tricycle path on the playground. One of the girls said, "NO! Look both ways before crossing the street!," Said Ms. Russell; AUS Pre-K chaperon.

The students were thrilled with the experience, according to the chaperones. The AUS teachers asked the children who partook in the excursion for their opinions on the experience. Some of the comments were:

"I learned about the four golden rules about being safe in a car. 1. Click your seat belt.2. Keep your head and arms inside 3. Look, listen when you cross the road 4. No mobiles in the car please!" -Aisha; Second grade.

"When I got in the car, my mommy was talking on her phone and I told her to put it away.......then I said please" -Retaj; Pre-K.

"I liked learning about putting my seatbelt on." -Trenton; Pre-K

The Kid Car Safety campaign is not only targeting children, but also their parents who play a major role in protecting them. On Saturday, December 13th, AUK student volunteers are planning a Traffic Takeover from 10am-1pm, in which they will hold posters at the Gulf Road traffic lights, from the Scientific Center to the Kuwait Towers, to raise awareness on road safety. The campaign, which has been supported by the Ministry of Interior, will feature another activity to be held at the 360 Mall on December 20th, where parents are encouraged to sign pledges to secure their kids in car seats, use seatbelts and practice safe driving habits.

Members of the AUKause organization have planned a series of activities that launched in October with a winter clothes drive for children, and will conclude with a CPR safety class for children in May. Other activities throughout the year will include a collegiate and sibling cartoon marathon, a carnival, and an alternative Spring Break trip, where students will travel to another country and engage in numerous service activities aimed to benefit children.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 10th December 2014

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2014