The head of the American University of Sharjah will confer degrees on students for the final time today before returning to his native United States.
Dr Winfred Thompson is stepping down after six years as chancellor to become director of the university’s Washington office, which develops links with American universities.
At a ceremony at the university today, he will confer degrees on 464 students who have completed bachelor’s and master’s courses. Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed, the Ruler of Sharjah, will present the certificates.
Yesterday, Dr Sheikh Sultan presented Dr Thompson with a commemorative shield and unveiled a plaque in his honour in the main university building.
“When I came in 2002 the institution was only five years old and had only had two graduating classes, both of which were quite small,” said Dr Thompson. “Now we have more than 2,000 alumni and the faculty has grown to more than 300. The number of programmes has substantially increased and I think our reputation extends throughout the region.”
The university opened in 1997 with 285 students and 30 faculty members and now has 4,900 students. It is independent but accredited by the US’s Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Courses are based on American curricula.
Dr Thompson said the American University of Sharjah was no longer “a pioneer institution” but a “mature university” that produced highly sought-after graduates. He said he became chancellor to help repair US-Arab relations.
“It was part of the fallout of 9/11 that made me think about coming here because the relationship between the United States and countries in the Middle East is very important.
“If I could contribute in some small way to improving that working relationship or helping to repair the damage, that seemed to me an interesting challenge.”
He joined the university on a two-year contract that was extended for five years.
He is returning to the US a year early for family reasons. “Never have I experienced any animosity because I’m an American living in the Emirates,” he said.
“Whatever misunderstandings there have been were more directed towards government policies than to our people.”
Dr Thompson recently called for universities and colleges in the UAE to adopt “a broader range of programmes” and not rely on the engineering, technology and business courses that had dominated higher education. This change in emphasis was needed, he said, to cope with the diversification of the economy.
Dr Thompson, who is married with a son and daughter, graduated in history at the University of Arkansas and has a PhD from the University of Chicago. As a young man, he spent two years in the Philippines as a volunteer with the Peace Corps.
Before he joined the American University of Sharjah, he was president of the University of Arkansas for 14 years.
His successor is Dr Peter Heath, who has been provost of the American University of Beirut for the