HCC’s Gigi Do receives recognition for work with CCQ partnership
Gigi Do, Executive Director for the Office of International Initiatives, received a prestigious appreciation award from Community College of Qatar (CCQ) for her dedicated work in fostering and cultivated the community college model for Qatar. Rashid Albader, senior administrator for the Supreme Education Council (SEC) for the Ministry of Education of Qatar was on hand to present this award to Gigi Do.
CCQ enrollment statistics: Students pursue core courses
From the official CCQ site:
Current students are pursuing studies in core courses for university transfer in English, Math, Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities, as well as short-term workforce certificates and corporate training courses needed for business and industry. Finally, CCQ also provides foundation coursework in English, Math, and Office skills as preparation for future studies or personal enrichment.
Gender Enrollment Statistics – 2012
CCQ, HCC seconded employees celebrate National Day at C-Ring campus
Community College of Qatar and Houston Community College seconded employees at the Community College of Qatar celebrated National Day at the C-Ring campus.
While in Houston, Executive Director Gigi Do, Former U.S. Ambassador of Qatar, and Commissioner Jim Fonteno joined the Qatar Consulate office in Houston to celebrate this important day at the Houston Hilton Galleria Hotel.
“HCC is proud to continue our successful third year with CCQ,” said OII Executive Director Gigi Do said.
CCQ Newsletter: Vantage Point (Fall 2012)
Vantage Point, the Community College of Qatar’s newsletter, is pleased to formally welcome all new and returning students to the C-Ring and West Bay campuses. With a new school year comes many new and original experiences, including never before seen courses such as the Introduction to Fiction class which focuses on the use of monsters, vampires, and ghosts. More science and business classes should also increase students’ opportunities.
Additionally, the Community College has paired with Qatar’s General Directorate of Customs and the government of Australia to create a program aimed at educating customs employees. Our exclusive, on CCQ’s new Associate’s of Applied Science Degree looks into this initiative and explains how two countries 10,500 kilometers apart have joined hands in this new venture. Most promising of all, new faculty, staff, and administrative hires from around the world will help to broaden CCQ’s reach as the college moves forward into its third year.
Download printable version of CCQ Newsletter: Vantage Point (Fall 2012) (PDF)
Message from the President
Dear CCQ Students,
It’s a new year… It’s a fresh start. That’s what the Fall Term is offering all of you.
So, WELCOME to the CCQ New Year!
Did you know that the CCQ is now 950 students strong? That’s a phenomenal growth that reflects how much the CCQ has become part of the community of Qatar… as well as the community’s response by entrusting your education and your future direction in this young but very dynamic and forward-looking institution of learning.
For the new students, this Fall Term is truly a fresh start. But for the returning students, it is a fresh start to find more ways to keep improving their skills, having more friends and enjoying their college life. I am pretty sure that you all have summer stories to share with one another as you see your friends again and definitely make new ones.
Likewise, you will see your previous instructors and probably be in their classes again. There will be new classes with new people who could have a lot in common with you. But definitely you will be meeting new faculty members who are just as excited as you to start the learning journey together. We have a highly qualified team of teachers/instructors/professors who can surely enrich your classroom experiences.
You will also experience new things around the College such as new courses, new facilities and renewed way of doing things to serve your needs better. The college has added many new courses this academic year, so it is a great opportunity for many of you to study subjects of your interest, or others that will prepare you for your university in the future.
This is your academic home for the next few months. Settle down, be at ease and assured that the College is here to help and partner with you. Education is a right and a privilege.
You are most welcome to express yourself in an acceptable and respectful manner and within the prescribed guidelines that the College has set out for your benefits.
So, without much ado, I wish all of you, my students and my colleagues, all the best for this Academic Year. May your enthusiasm and desire to reach your goals rise as you encounter challenging situations and as you turn them around to your advantage and succeed every step of the way.
-Acting President Ibrahim Saleh Al Naimi Ph.d.
Eight Community College of Qatar Students Receive Houston Community College Diplomas
The Community College of Qatar held a small ceremony to confer Houston Community College diplomas on eight students. The eight recipients, members of CCQ’s first graduating class, successfully completed all the requirements needed to obtain the HCC diplomas.
All 11 members of the CCQ 2012 inaugural graduating class are now attending various universities in Qatar and in the United States including Qatar University, Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar and Woodbury University in Los Angeles, California.
In his commencement address, CCQ’s Acting President, Dr. Ibrahim Saleh Al-Naimi, congratulated the students for their efforts and success. “Two years ago, in September 2010, we welcomed the first batch of students to the Community College of Qatar. On 15 May 2012, 6 young ladies and 5 young men marched up the stage to receive their CCQ diplomas. We proudly celebrated Qatar’s inaugural community college graduates. With CCQ degrees already in hand, eight of those eleven graduates decided to complete a few more courses in the summer and are now receiving their second diplomas”, he said. Dr. Al-Naimi also extended “his heartfelt gratitude and admiration to the college faculty and staff for their hard work and unwavering commitment to providing quality education to our students”.
In his welcome address, CCQ Acting Dean Dr Butch Herod congratulated the students on the completion of their HCC degrees and on their recent admission to universities.
Dr. Art Tyler, Deputy Chancellor and COO of Houston Community College, travelled from Houston to award the HCC diplomas to the students on behalf of Chancellor Mary Spangler and the HCC board of trustees. Dr. Tyler congratulated the students and he recognized their dedication and hard work in completing two college degrees within two years. He also wished them well in their educational and career journeys.
”Houston Community College is our partner institution with whom we share the same purpose of opening up opportunities for young men and women of Qatar to pursue lifelong learning and further education and achieve their dreams so that they are able to serve this country with what they do best,” said Dr. Al-Naimi.
CCQ announces the new Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Customs Management
So what exactly does a Community College in Qatar have in common with a University in Canberra, Australia? In addition to general education, community colleges, like universities, have the ability to develop customized programs aimed at the betterment of new employment programs. With the tide changing and more educational programs being tailored to specific areas of employment, CCQ’s new Department of Workforce Education and Community Development has implemented a innovative program geared towards Qatari men and women interested in customs. Dr. Abdulnassir Al-Tamimi, who is now the Associate Dean of the Department of Workforce Education and Community Development, explains how this new program came into being.
“We were approached by the General Directorate of Customs to build a tailor made custom’s program that would be recognized around the world,” he said. “A program that would not only serve the state of Qatar, but with future goals of serving customs authorities in the Gulf and around the world. We initially looked for institutions in the US that we could partner with but could not find any that offers a degree in Customs Management. Luckily, we found what can argua-bly be the most recognized institute for programs modified to customs and to customs management- the Center for Customs and Excise Studies at the University of Canberra in Australia. The Center’s CEO is one of the top officials for the World Customs Organization (WCO) and will not only help us build a strong and well recognized program, but will assist the college, as part of the partnership agreement, in getting the program accredited by the essentials of customs management and border control. Upon completion of the AAS students would be able to transfer to a university to complete another two years of education and graduate with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Applied Technology. The University of Houston in Houston, Texas is being considered as a candidate for the transfer students.
Currently, 40 students are enrolled who are sponsored employees of the General Directorate of Customs in Qatar. The agency has stated they are willing to hire interested CCQ students and will sponsor a limited number in exchange for the students agreeing to work for the General Directorate of Customs after graduation. If interested, please contact Ms. Mariam Al-Barazi, CCQ’s Scholarship and Sponsorship Advisor, at 4401-1372.
This is the first of many new AAS programs to be developed at CCQ in the coming years that will help meet the workforce needs of the State of Qatar. Dr. Al-Tamimi (Associate Dean) is currently collaborating with the Ministry of Interior to implement an AAS in Telecommunications Technology as well as an AAS in Early Childhood Education requested by the Supreme Education Council.
C-Ring Club Rush
The annual club rush began on September 12th with faculty, staff, and student sponsors promoting their unique organizations in the hope of recruiting new members to help build and broaden their club’s versatility. The event was held at C-Ring’s cafeteria where club sponsors set up tables with their club name, sign-up sheets, and anything they could think of to bring attention to their organization. The Photography Club, sponsored by English Professor Bernadette Russo and assisted by ESOL Professor Bryan Corbin, made use of multiple cameras and lenses to excite students about the opportunities the organization offers. When asked about student interest, Professor Russo offered, “The rush was a huge success for us. We now have more members, and the students will be doing more this year than last.”
The C-Ring Student Government was present and came prepared with miniature cupcakes and bundles of brightly colored balloons, both of which worked well at gaining student attention and tempting other club sponsors. Students of Professor Barbara Loggins made use of the walls behind their table by posting very tasteful banner and a roll-up sign specially made for the occasion. Others used projectors and laptops to display what they were offering and what things new members could do as part of the club.
Ultimately, many of the clubs were successful at collecting new members. Previously established clubs, such as the Business Club, had no trouble in collecting new members, while newer clubs also picked up some interest. Each new member will have the opportunity to participate in club activities, to plan events, and to vote for their club leadership.
Student clubs are centered on common interests and can be used by students to help improve their skill set prior to graduation. Many students use these clubs as an opportunity to prepare for the careers they wish to pursue or simply to add to their CV. While no club can be said to be better or worse than another, it is important that students consider what their interests are before joining. A student may still be able to join a group later in the semester if the club sponsor agrees. To get into contact with a specific club, contact Mashael Al-Mohammadi, Student Activities Coordinator.
Community College of Qatar’s Newest Stars
The Community College of Qatar is happy to welcome its newest Faculty and Staff to its hallowed halls. Nearly every department has a new face. Let’s meet them!
Administration:
President’s Office: Dr. Said A Mubarak Law Expert
Operations: Nahed Mohamed Korshy, Service Worker
Human Resources:
Noor Riyas, Receptionist
Ahlam Aiedhhz Reshidi, Office Assistant
Mohammed Ali Ah, Office Assistant
Student Services:
Cheryl Johnson, Associate Dean of Student Services
Admissions: Makeba Brown, Registration/Enrollment Associate Student Activities: Sara Al Sherouqi, Student Activities Officer Counseling & Advising: Chameeta Denton, C-Ring Counselor
Information Technology:
Systems Administrator: Adnan Bleik
Systems Analyst: Wissam Maadarani
Instruction:
Dr. Robert Ford, Associate Dean of Instruction
Math: Fearase Al-Neimi and Sahar Saleh Computer Science and Business: Saman Desilva
English: Camille Alexander
ESOL: Carol Lafferty, Carmella Payne, James Herst, BJ Jumnadass, Ravathy Ratnasekar, Bryan Corbin, Fe Liza Bencosme, Deborah Dixon Ali, Cecelia (CC) King, Bridgette Dennis, Joseph Mitchell, Marvis Kilgore, and Bratislav Stojic.
Library: Reem Abdul Qader Al-Ansari, Library Assistant
Congrats: Scott Gehman & Bernadette Russo
Please join us in congratulating two of CCQ’s finest professionals.
First, Professor Bernadette Russo on presenting her paper, “Shackles of a Distant Self and the Damning Complicit.” Professor Russo read her work at the “Making Sense of Madness” conference at Mansfield College on the campus of Oxford University. This prestigious multi-disciplinary conference included presenters from around the world. Scholars in the fields of psychiatry, psychology, anthropology, social work, post colonialism, literature, philosophy, and theology presented papers, gave seminars, and led discussions questioning the construction and role of madness in society.
Oxford University is one of the most venerable institutions of higher education in the world. The fact that CCQ was represented among this gathering of celebrated thinkers is a great testament to Profes-sor Russo’s intellectual and scholarly abilities.
And Second, congratulations to our colleague Scott Gehman, whose third musical production for the Chinese government, Metropolis, will debut in the city of Shenzhen (China’s fourth largest city) in early December 2012. Scott wrote the music for this musical which is about Shenzhen’s meteoric rise from a small fishing village in the 1970s to a city of 14 million people. Shenzhen is China’s electronics industry capital with Apple Computers manufacturing many of its products there as well.
Shenzhen’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism commissioned the musical last year. It is a Broadway style production in both English and Mandarin and was initiated to help promote the city’s global profile in hopes of continuing to attract international business and industry. So, please join us in congratulating Scott and Bernadette on their wonderful, creative enterprises.
Have you met?
Bryan Corbin: He comes to us from Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in Communications, a master’s degree in Professional Writing, and a TEFL certificate. When not teaching or planning lessons, Bryan is working on a second graduate degree in Adult Education from Colorado State University. He has been married for one year, and previously taught ESL in China and South Korea. In his free time he enjoys kayaking, hiking, writing, traveling, and snapping photographs of Doha. He has traveled to every continent and is thrilled to be working in this beautiful nation and learning about life in the Middle East.
Associate Dean of Instruction: Welcome to the Community College of Qatar, 2012 to 2013
By Robert G. Ford, Ph.D.
Associate Dean of Instruction, Community College of Qatar
Doha, Qatar
Welcome to the Community College of Qatar, 2012 to 2013!
I’ve really just arrived in Doha—only here a few weeks so far. I’ve started in a position as the Associate Dean of Instruction (after years of being a teacher of English (and having a few other roles too) in Houston. But I have joined many members of the HCC community already here. Beyond that, I’ve met more faculty and staff hired from around the world who have joined this college in its first two years. We’re working alongside Qatari men and women. And we’re all supported by more men and women from many different places.
And we are thus part of a college that HCC is helping to create in Doha, a busy modern city, made busier still through the many construction projects for skyscrapers, shopping malls, neighborhoods, roadways, and houses. It’s hard to explain how busy Doha is, especially at certain times and certain places. The skyline, beautiful, unique, incredible, does remind me of Houston in the 70′s and early 80′s when it was being transformed and cranes were everywhere. Right now the weather is hot, generally dry though the humidity can surpass Houston’s (imagine that!). There is dust in the air (sand is all around us) but when it clears, the sky can be blue, the water calm, and the plants (if the watering never really stops) green. I’m told I have winter to look forward to; people have told me that weather here is like Seattle’s; others have told me to look for Hawaii. So I am curious about what I will find.
Most members of HCC community live in the Diplomatic Area (named as such because embassies are nearby), and as we get ready to go to work Sunday to Thursday (our weekend is Friday to Saturday) construction workers are bussed to the buildings around us, beginning some, finishing others, and continuing many. A smaller contingent of HCC faculty lives in a complex of villas, but we all go to two campuses, the larger one called “C Ring” because it’s constructed on C Ring Road (one of the roads following the curve of the Corniche, the semi-circular bay Doha faces). C Ring is the “girls’ campus”—as the signs nearby proclaim. Our C Ring campus is nearby mid-rise office buildings, restaurants, a hypermarket, and a mall (called “The Mall”). This semester 644 women take classes in the mornings, early afternoons, and then in the evenings. Our other campus, “West Bay” is located in a more residential part of town, west of the Corniche. Close to the villas where some of our people live, it’s also close to Education City where branches of Texas A and M, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown and other American universities have campuses, close to Qatar Foundation, the civic center, the new research hospital, and close to Katara, a new cultural village, and the Pearl, a series of man-made islands with housing, shops, and slips for yachts. West Bay is our male campus, this semester serving 307 for a total student body of 951.
Girls and Boys. I will admit that this takes some getting used to coming from the United States, and my years in academia where I learned Women and Men and no “ladies” or “girls” for sure. But I’ve also learned even in this short time I’ve been here that this is what they call themselves. More importantly, coming here one is very aware of how seriously the students take their education. The women fill C Ring during prime class days—busy in classes, busy talking to each other between classes, and busy contacting their professors, chairs, and deans. I’ve already (week 2) talked with several. The atmosphere at C Ring is intense and focused; one has the sense that these female students take their education profoundly seriously. The building is a modern office building; and the women’s heals can reverberate on the marble floors as they move around the building.
The men at West Bay also value their education, but the atmosphere at West Bay does feel more relaxed; partly due the smaller size and more traditional design of the campus, and partly offset by the frantic parking being done outside the campus. The boys drive to their campus; the girls are driven to theirs. Male and female faculty and staff move back and forth, some faculty in some specialized fields having to teach at both campuses day and evening—because just as in the United States, there is a distinction between day and evening students. Evening students work during the day and are coming back to school to complete or extend their education to assist with their employment. Some day students are coming to the college for the first time, and will move to transfer to the national university, Qatar University, one of the universities in Education City, or to international schools especially in the United Kingdom or the United States (I’ve noticed the boys being interested in schools in California; the girls in England).
Although we offer a range of academic credit courses in humanities, the social sciences, mathematics, and the hard sciences, many students take ESL classes, and the combined English program is our current largest program. There are so many ESL teachers. I cannot over-estimate this. But students are moving through our courses, moving to credit courses. We held our first graduation earlier this year, with our first eleven graduates, students who came to the college when it opened college-ready. And we anticipate significantly more graduates this year and next, as students who needed some foundation English have now progressed to credit courses. We also awarded eight HCC degrees to our students, after they completed HCC courses for credit as well. And we anticipate more such graduates. A group is forming an association of these initial graduates. I’ve asked to meet with as many of these eleven as are still around (some have gone abroad to continue their education). I want to learn abut them, hear their advice for how we can continue to serve those behind them, and I want to emphasize to them how important they are: they are the first graduates of a very special project between the government of Qatar and Houston Community College.
This partnership is symbolic and practical. It is practical because employees of HCC also have contracts with CCQ, organized under the Qatari Supreme Education Council. For those of us with HCC, salary and benefits come initially from Houston. Housing and travel funding come from Qatar—and the government pays HCC for its services with staffing and classes. The college is in the process of developing its unique procedures and policies, but I’ve learned that on a moment-by-moment basis we move from Houston procedures to Qatari ones and back. There are many occasions here to think about similarities and differences between cultures. And there are many events that celebrate the creation of a new institution from coordinating and considering multiple sets of perspectives.
And this where the symbolic nature of the project comes forward. Everyone here wears the badge of creating something new. Those who came two years ago talk of how they really were beginning a college, performing duties they had never done before. They still are. Every Thursday (think Friday) the college divides into many committees, committees helping, among other things to develop plans and procedures for the college-to-be. The college is new, and Doha is a very international city; we are here with people from everywhere. It’s peaceful, secure (we can walk at 1 am, feeling safe), profoundly complicated, beautiful, interesting. I can leave my laptop and valuables in my unlocked office and go anywhere without worry. There is much to be said about this.
But as I think of all of us from the United States working with colleagues and students who are from so very far from Houston, I’m amazed. Much is happening here with more still to come. We want this blog to show you too that you should be amazed, too.
Robert Ford joined CCQ in Fall 2012. He has worked for HCC since 1984, serving as faculty in English, chair of multiple departments, including two separate departments of English and other departments focused on instructional technology, including distance education. He holds BA, MA, and Ph.D. degrees from Rice University.
CCQ Customs, Welcoming the New Arrival
By Robert G. Ford, Ph.D.
Associate Dean of Instruction
Community College of Qatar
Doha, Qatar
September 2012
New employees at the Community College of Qatar from the United States arrive by air, flying Qatar Air. They go through immigration, baggage claim, and customs. Before they reach these points, they have already deplaned and then have walked down a steep portable stair to catch a bus to drive around the grounds at the terminal. (When I flew out of Doha earlier this year, I had the joy of riding a bus that circled the airplane I was about to ride, as if for me to inspect it.)
All of this is the basics of arriving in Doha for anyone. But for new employees of CCQ, as I was a few weeks ago, the best part of the arrival process is coming through the doors for customs. For it is there that people are waiting to pick up travelers — and there that new employees will be greeted by a throng of CCQ faculty and staff. They drive to the airport in multiple cars, have signs, wave, and greet their new colleagues. Because of how hiring occurs, for some employees, this meeting is the first non-Skype or phone meeting between people who will live and work very close to each other for a year or more. The traveler is tired, has too much luggage, and is just beginning to realize that the time has changed: he expects morning, but it’s night. And for a few days this just gets worse. I almost fell over at a meeting the day after I arrived, and every afternoon for a week I suddenly felt profoundly tired; the mornings always began with “I think I’m finally over jet lag.” I wasn’t.
We then all drove to the city, and new employees were matched with current employees. Keys to residences had been secured, and we were all taken to our new homes. I’m writing from mine, in a floor of a high-rise building. When the door opened, partly because I was so tired and so tired of dealing with more luggage than I’ve ever traveled with ever before, I looked at the space without fully seeing all it offered. What I did see amazed me: on a table was a stack of boxes. Because housing is part of the support for employees here, college personnel had shopped for the essentials of life: pots, pans, glasses, a coffee maker, a vacuum cleaner, and for me, the best thing, an iron. It’s a long story. In the refrigerator were packages of meat, eggs, vegetables. There was a case of bottled water, and two kinds of bread.
These may seem like minor things, but when one is flying from far away, to take a new position, work in a different country, having such items already in the house was very comforting. If one thought that the welcome at the airport was the welcome, he would be wrong. It’s the welcome in the apartment that says relax, get ready, and the next morning all very soon (7 am), go.
A few days after I arrived I had the pleasure and honor or being part of a welcoming myself. I went with people who had been here for a bit and who were new; even the new people had now assumed the mantle of the welcomer. I must admit that nothing was more rewarding then showing one of the people arriving on that flight to his apartment; he too had a similar stack of boxes, and his refrigerator was also stocked. He even had more eggs than I had.
In a sense all of this seems minor, but it’s not. This is part of an intricate system of orientation and planning. I’ve since talked with people here about how these objects, how these packages of sliced lunchmeat arrived in the apartments of those just arriving. This took teamwork and planning. And this showed evidence of how organized and considerate the faculty and staff of CCQ are to the members of their community.
We are now waiting on another group of faculty and staff to arrive soon. I can’t wait, for many reasons. Partly for what they will do in their day-to-day work lives for the college. But also for my chance to continue to participate in this process of welcoming.
Robert Ford joined CCQ in Fall 2012. He has worked for HCC since 1984, serving as faculty in English, chair of multiple departments, including two separate departments of English and other departments focused on instructional technology, including distance education. He holds BA, MA, and Ph.D. degrees from Rice University.
Working together to maintain high standards
By Renata Russo
Chair for English & ESL
Community College of Qatar
The Department of English and ESL at CCQ serves more than 80% of our students. As we begin our third year, we continue to involve faculty in working together to maintain our high standards of an American Community College. Our Faculty committees align our curricula across levels to foster students’ success in completing their college level courses. Many of our English & ESL faculty members have had experience teaching overseas allowing them to not only connect with our Qatari students, but to also teach content that is culturally sensitive.
Renata Russo has over 20 years of ESL-EFL teaching experience. She holds a Master’s Degree in TESOL and a Master’s Degree in Internet Technologies. She is currently writing her dissertation on GED graduates and their postsecondary success.