FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 6, 2005

CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu

DRAKE PRESIDENT TO ATTEND CONFERENCE IN TURKEY

Later this week Drake University President David Maxwell will participate in a conference in Istanbul, Turkey, titled “Independent Universities in the Muslim World: A New Approach.” The conference Dec. 8-12 will bring together some 25 distinguished leaders of universities from the Muslim world and the United States, as well as a few policy specialists, for an in-depth discussion about the development of these universities.

President Maxwell was invited to take part in the conference because of his expertise and experience in international education. Before joining Drake in 1999, he directed the National Foreign Language Center in Washington, D.C., for six years, and in that role was an active participant in the national discourse on international education. He was a member of the American Council on Education's Commission on International Education from 1989 to 2002 (including two years as chair), a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of the Council on International Educational Exchange.

He also was a member of the NAFSA/Association of International Educators task force, chaired by former Secretary of Education Richard Riley, that in 2004 produced a major national policy report: “Toward an International Education Policy for the United States: International Education in an Age of Globalism and Terrorism.” He currently is a member of the ACE Network on International Education.

This conference is the first program to be organized by The Hollings Center (known formally as the International Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue), an initiative of the United States Congress to designed to find areas of potential cooperation between institutions in the United States and Muslim-majority countries.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to participate in this discussion,” President Maxwell said. “Universities — especially those free of government control — are essential institutions in a democracy, and I hope that our colleagues will find our experience and insights to be of use. At the same time, it is an important opportunity for us to connect with institutions in parts of the world about which we do not know nearly as much as we must, and to look for opportunities to collaborate that are of mutual benefit.”

”Independent Universities in the Muslim World: A New Approach” will focus on a significant new trend in higher education: the emergence of private or independent universities in many countries where universities have traditionally been a monopoly of the state. Though much research remains to be done on this subject, the conference will explore the forces behind this phenomenon.

In addition, conference participants will discuss the impact of American-style education on independent universities. Many new universities actually describe themselves as "American," a phenomenon of considerable interest at a time of great disagreement with American policies in other areas. Yet, here an "American" linkage apparently retains its appeal. The conference will explore whether this is an area for productive engagement between universities from the United States and the Muslim world.

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