OPINION:
It is finals week at most colleges and universities around the United States. It’s a week where all of the hard work and effort students have put in for the past 15 weeks either pays off or collapses. It’s high pressure. If you’ve done your homework and have your facts straight, it will likely go well. For most, it’s very rewarding, another step on the way to a college degree in the discipline of their choice.
What many American students don’t realize is that simply having the opportunity to learn at an advanced level of higher education is a privilege that most people around the globe don’t enjoy. Time and again we have been told by politicians and pundits that troubled countries that spawn terrorists and tyrannical despots would be different if only their people were afforded the life-changing opportunity of a formal education.
It’s no small irony then when some of those same politicians are criticizing a place called Education City. Picture a vibrant 12-acre university campus, the educational home to more than 10,000 students, a place where these young people can explore not only a variety of fields of study, but also a wide range of opinions on topics of importance. Civil, open debate and discussion on campus have long been a staple of American universities, but Education City is in the heart of the Middle East.
Education City isn’t simply a school that happens to be located in the Middle East region. It is home to some of the most prestigious names in education including Georgetown, Northwestern, Texas A&M, Carnegie Mellon, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Art, Weill Cornell School of Medicine and Hamad Bin Khalifa University. It also features a national library, a world-class sports stadium, a beautiful park and a house of worship.
You read that correctly. Georgetown professors are teaching eager students in Qatar.
Qatar has become a world leader in a variety of areas ranging from international mediation to world-class sporting events. It should be no surprise that the nation wishes to provide the best educational opportunities for its people to assure continued growth, prosperity and stability.
I had the opportunity to speak with Francisco Marmolejo, Qatar Foundation president of higher education. His enthusiasm at what they have created and continue to build and expand in Doha is infectious. He is not the stereotypical college administrator. His vision and focus are clearly on the student experience, on excellence and the long-term opportunity Education City offers each of them.
It provides an opportunity for the youth, not only of Qatar, but also of countries throughout the Middle East to learn from some of the finest institutions on the globe. In 2023, it graduated 874 students from 77 countries. How do they attract students from so many places? Education City features something unique for students. A student may intend to pursue a major in communication from Northwestern and take all the requisite classes to achieve that goal. In addition however, that same student, once accepted and enrolled at Education City, can cross-register for classes at other branch campuses, meaning the same Northwestern student could earn a minor in public policy from Georgetown simultaneously.
The formula is fairly simple. The parent organization of Education City, the Qatar Foundation, works with each university to determine the cost for faculty and staff salaries, operations, student costs, and buildings in Qatar, and then includes an additional 10% to cover administrative costs back in the west on the main campus.
More than 10,000 students are currently taking classes at Education City. For many from the region it is an opportunity too good to pass up. Middle Eastern parents are no different than any other. They feel angst and concern about sending their child too far away. In the past, young men and women had to spend their collegiate years in Europe or the United States if they wanted a first-rate education. The cost and the cultural differences were enough for some families to simply say no. With Education City and the world-class programs it offers, they don’t have to make that choice.
The commencement ceremonies at Education City harbor all the joy and excitement that university students everywhere feel after navigating a four-year degree or graduate program. Proud parents, hugs with friends, hats tossed in the air. It’s all there. Most importantly of course, the result is thousands of well-educated, curious young men and women ready to tackle the world in their chosen field. It is a key ingredient in the region’s goal of stability and in making the world a better place.
Certain American-based pro-Israel-led groups however, see sinister intentions in the Arab nation’s education effort. Some are convinced it is all a plan to influence and take over American campuses. A handful of Republicans took Qatar to task in a congressional hearing on antisemitism this year, pointing to pro-Palestine student protests on the American campuses of some Education City-related schools. Largely ignored was how many similar protests took place on American campuses that have no relationship whatsoever with Education City.
Rep. Burgess Owens, Utah Republican, alluded to reports that Northwestern has received more than $600 million from Qatar since 2007. Assuming that figure is correct, let’s do some loose math: $600 million divided by 17 years is $35 million annually on average. Divide that by roughly 1,500 students and the number is $23,000 per student. Would you invest $23,000 for a year of college education? The chances are many of you have, perhaps even considerably more. With no context, $600 million sounds like a big number. $23,000 per student for faculty and staff salaries, operations, student costs, and buildings, however, sounds perfectly reasonable.
The political frying pan intentionally heated up by certain anti-Arab factions in Washington became a little too hot for one university. Texas A&M University announced in February that it will be shutting down its Qatar campus in 2028 after a 21-year partnership. It is a loss for Education City, but it is most certainly a loss for Texas A&M. Brittany Bounds, a history professor at Texas A&M, is leading the transition effort for faculty and students. “There was definitely shock at the announcement,” she said. “No one was sure what it meant. Not staff. Not students.” Ms. Bounds says that though there is disappointment, the transition is going smoothly. Most students will still graduate as an Aggie, and many of the professors are choosing to stay in Doha and are joining the Hamad Bin Khalifa University faculty.
When the Texas A&M Board of Regents cast their vote to cut ties, they cited regional instability. No small irony there, as Qatar is regularly the voice of reason in their part of the world, acting as an international mediator not only for and with the United States, but also on the world stage. It is arguably the most stable nation in the Middle East/ North Africa region. There are far more female students than male, including in the STEM disciplines, essentially creating exactly what leaders in the West say they hope to see in the Middle East.
Pundits and politicians crying out for opportunity for the people of the Middle East can’t simultaneously complain about the efforts of Education City. Much like college students studying for finals this week, they must do their homework and get their facts straight. A closer look shows Education City as a model for the world. Bring the best professors and teaching practices to your students, and stability and prosperity will follow.
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