Senior Associate Dean for Finance and Administration, Dottie Milligan and Director of Budget, Planning and Analysis, Kathy Kilpatrick recently gave a presentation at the Society for College and University Planner's (SCUP) international conference in Chicago.
The theme of the SCUP conference was: "Shaping the Academic Landscape: Integrated Solutions" and their presentation was titled "U.S. and Middle East: Building Educational Alliances".
His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani andHer Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Misned, knowing the importance of educating their country's youth, invited VCU to become the first American university with an overseas campus. It was a golden opportunity for Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) to think creatively in making this a win-win solution for both VCU and the State of Qatar and has resulted in a unique integrative experience.
Ms. Milligan and Ms. Kilpatrick discussed the challenges to this integration of two very different cultures with a single mission and presented how these challenges were met. They also explained a blue print for the planning and implementation of this extremely successful global program.
"It was so exciting to have the opportunity to talk about Qatar's visionary leap into becoming the center for higher education excellence in the Middle East.Endeavors such as this help bridge the gulf between two very distinct cultures, giving both a greater ability to work and compete in the global market. Tremendous learning has occurred in both directions: a deeper understanding and appreciation of Middle Eastern culture and a greater understanding and appreciation of the value of western education. The impact of globalization and the opportunity it creates to build alliances has become very evident. " said Dottie Milligan.
"Working in Education City and living in Qatar has been a wonderful experience and I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to tell the people at the conference in the US about it." added Kathy Kilpatrick.
