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[Anna Dubaya]

Anyone knows what this is about?

Friday, June 20, 2008
TheNational

ABU DHABI // The American provost of Zayed University has been removed from her post after offering her resignation, in an abrupt change that comes as the school hopes for US accreditation.

Dr Lois Muir wrote to the authorities at the government university to say she wanted to resign by the end of the autumn term, which ends in January, to return to the University of Montana.

However, in an email to the "campus community", Dr Sulaiman al Jassim, vice president of the university, said that "in the best interests of the university" the transition process should start immediately. Dr Jassim was not available for comment.

Tom Cochran, executive adviser to the vice president and chief of staff, has been appointed as interim provost until a permanent candidate can be found for the position.

A tenured academic at Montana, Dr Muir said she sought to return to Montana before January, when her leave of absence expires.

"I am going on holiday and will come back after the holiday and fix things up," Dr Muir said.

"I resigned. I had a commitment and had been talking for some weeks about finishing up what I had committed to originally."

In his letter to university members, Dr Jassim said Dr Muir was asked to step down immediately because he was "optimistic" a new provost could be appointed before the autumn term started in September.

He said he was allowing Dr Muir to "focus her energies on repatriating to the United States". The search for a new provost would begin "immediately", he said in a separate statement.

Dr Muir's departure comes at a critical time for the university, which is expecting an imminent decision on whether the school will be accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in the US.

If it is successful, it would become the first Federal Government university to receive international accreditation.

Zayed University's efforts to secure accreditation date back to 2001 and culminated in February this year with the submission of a 216-page self-assessment report. Among other criteria, applicant universities must show they are well-resourced and governed, and have good administration in place.

The university was founded in 1998 and has campuses in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

It is open to Emiratis only and, for most of its history, all its students have been female.

A centre for male students was opened recently.

http://www.thenational.ae/article/20080619/NATIONAL/85912538/1010/NEWS

[Afra]

Why
-- the saga continues... ?

[mandalayroad]

I imagine Middle States will put accreditation on hold for now, unless her resignation was tendered because she knew that accreditation was not forthcoming.

[Anna Dubaya]

The saga continues, simply because there are a fair number of problems at the top with administration.

[uaeobserver]

ZU was in the new newspaper www.thenational.ae this week.

VC says new candidate will be a male (that quote would get you into trouble in several countries).

VC also notes that he recinded several promotions made by previous provost.

On the good side - seems the government found some new money for higher education, and that ZU will get some.

[veiledsentiments]

I noticed that there is an article at that site saying that ZU had received the accreditation as June 30, 2008...

VS