[Paleopsych] CHE: An American U. Rises in Afghanistan

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An American U. Rises in Afghanistan
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 5.4.15
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v51/i32/32a03902.htm

    By SHAILAJA NEELAKANTAN

    The groundbreaking ceremony for the American University of
    Afghanistan, the country's first private, American-style university,
    took place in Kabul last month.

    The university, which plans to open in 2006, is patterning itself
    after other American-style institutions abroad, such as the American
    University of Beirut. It will provide courses in management,
    communications, and the liberal arts for 1,100 undergraduates. All
    courses will be taught in English and will be open to students from
    Afghanistan and the region.

    The university will aggressively reach out to young Afghan women,
    Afghan higher-education officials said. It plans to build appropriate
    facilities and housing for women, award scholarships to poor women,
    and hire female professors.

    The U.S. government is supporting the university with a multiyear
    commitment of more than $15-million, Laura Bush, the first lady, said
    in a speech in Kabul last month. She visited a teacher-training
    institute, where she spoke of the importance of educating women.

    Those pushing for the new university believe there is sufficient
    interest among Afghans and Afghan-Americans to sustain a private
    institution.

    President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan attended the groundbreaking
    ceremony, along with Sharif Fayez, Afghanistan's former
    higher-education minister, who is interim president of the new
    university. The Asia Foundation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit
    group, has signed a grant agreement with the U.S. Agency for
    International Development to act as the new university's fiduciary
    agent for one year. During that time, it will develop a set of
    financial and administrative systems for the new university and help
    it raise grant money from AID and other donors.