By Mariam Diab
UNIVERSITY CITY, SHARJAH – The American University of Sharjah is forming a new group on campus to serve as a liaison between administrators and students, the chancellor announced in a Feb. 14 email to the AUS community.
Dr. Tod A. Laursen, summarizing results of the January meeting of the university’s Board of Trustees, explained that the Student Experience Advisory Team (SEAT) will be the means through which AUS leadership communicates with key student groups about problems and goals.
The board meeting took place Jan. 19-21.
Laursen wrote that SEAT, an initiative of the university’s Student Life Committee, will collaborate with the Student Council and the Graduate Student Association. It “will be an ongoing mechanism for AUS leadership to hear directly from key student groups about issues and initiatives of most direct interest to them.”
Laursen also introduced four new senior administrators, each with the title of executive director: Amina Abdulrahim for IT; Amal Al Ghammai for employee services; Shaima Bin Taliah for student experience; and Reem Al Bardan for advancement and alumni affairs. He added that university reorganization also called for the reestablishment of the post of vice-chancellor, with five slated to be filled in the future.In summarizing reports from university committees, presented at the meeting, Laursen noted that the Academic Affairs and Research Committee had presented three new research center pre-proposals which will be distributed among the four AUS colleges.
