Universities Caught in Tunisia’s Political Crisis
With the academic year soon to begin, university leaders are urging nonviolence as the country tries to find a way forward.
Two Canadian Academics Swept up in Egypt’s Security Crackdown
A Canadian professor of emergency medicine and a filmmaker pursuing a doctorate asked Egyptian police for directions. Instead, they got arrested.
A Journalist’s Advice to an Academic
The editor of Al Fanar suggests how lessons from cutting news stories might be applied to scholarly writing.
Revival of Iraqi Violence Also Targets Academics
A car bombing killed a professor at the University of Baghdad’s medical school and renewed fears that more Iraqi scholars will come under attack.
Tunisian Dean Acquitted: More Conflict Likely
A Tunisian court has acquitted a university dean of assaulting a veiled female student. But the wider conflict about veils in Tunisian university classrooms will continue.
New Professors Frozen Out at Lebanese University
The only public university in Lebanon has not been able to hire any new, full-time professors since 2008. So as older professors retire, the university fills up with part-time contract professors.
Egyptian Court Supports Universities’ Independence
A federal court has struck down the right of the Egyptian education ministry to enforce twice-a-year evaluations on University of Alexandria professors. Opponents of the evaluations said the government should not be interfering in such university matters. Now professors at other Egyptian universities may seek similar rulings.
Paralyzing Strike in Lebanese Public Education Ends
A successful strike for higher salaries by professors at Lebanese University, the only public university in the country, spread to much of the Lebanese public-education system, paralyzing it.
Why I Didn’t Go to Dubai
Khaled Fahmy argues that the lack of understanding of the nature and value of a liberal education poses the gravest danger to Arab education.
