Fulbright Fellowship Takes UA Professor to Syria

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Mounir Farah, University of Arkansas professor of curriculum and instruction, has received a senior Fulbright Fellowship to conduct research on reform and change in the Syrian education system. In addition to his research, during the 2004-05 academic year in Syria, he will lecture at Syrian universities on the Syrian and American education systems.

"The award of the Fulbright Fellowship to Dr. Farah is a well-deserved tribute to his scholarship and commitment to international education," said Reed Greenwood, dean of the UA College of Education and Health Professions.

Farah will lecture at the University of Damascus and at Aleppo University in northern Syria and will work with faculty and students at both institutions. As part of his fellowship, he will also consult with officials from the Syrian Ministry of Education.

This is not Farah's first opportunity for educational work in the Middle East. During the past year, he represented the UA College of Education and Health Professions in advising the Syrian International School in Damascus and in developing its curriculum.

During the 1990's, he was involved in drafting memoranda of understanding between the University of Arkansas and the ministries of higher education and universities in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Morocco. Farah also led professional delegations to Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Morocco.

In 1993-95, he directed a World Bank-funded project for rewriting 20 textbooks and accompanying teachers' guides in history, geography and civics for the Jordanian Ministry of Education. He also advised four Jordanian public universities on practice teaching in social studies.

Farah is senior author of two widely used social studies textbooks. "World History: The Human Experience" is used in more than half of the Arkansas school districts and is one of the leading social studies textbooks nationally. His "Global Insights: People and Cultures" is also commonly used nationally and in Arkansas.

Farah has been consultant to more than 20 educational films and a contributing writer for numerous publications relating to social studies and the Middle East.

He serves on the Executive Board of the International Assembly of Social Science Educators, an affiliated organization within the National Council for the Social Studies. He is a member of the Executive Board of the Arkansas Council for the Social Studies and received the Arkansas Educator of the Year Award in 2000.

Farah earned his doctorate in history at New York University, his master's from the University of Bridgeport and his bachelor's degree from Oklahoma City University. He also earned certificates and diplomas in educational administration, curriculum and supervision, and urban economics.

He joined the faculty of the University of Arkansas department of curriculum and instruction in 1995 and is also a professor in the UA King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies.