Delegation from Qatar University College of Education Visits Hunter

On Tuesday, July 12, President Raab welcomed a delegation from the College of Education at Qatar University who visited Hunter College to meet with members of the School of Education. The goal of their visit, to Hunter and to other schools of education in the US, was to understand strategies and practices in the US as they embark on an initiative to revamp and relaunch three current centers (Field Training, Learning Support, and the National Center for Educational Development) into a single unit named the Education and Wellbeing Institute (EWI). The increased demand for meeting students’ diverse needs has prompted an intentional emphasis on wellbeing. The college currently faces challenges common to those at colleges/universities around the world, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic: students require significantly more support than in the past. The hope of the academic leaders in Qatar is to provide their students with holistic learning experiences that will better prepare them as future teachers. The discussion focused on how schools of education in the US approach several issues in teacher preparation, including recruitment and retention of students, student support services, curricular matters, and clinical experiences.

The Qatar delegation was comprised of Drs. Ahmed Al-Emadi, Professor of Sport Management, Hessa Al-Thani, Dean of the College of Education, and Aisha Al-Ahmadi Acting Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at Qatar University. They were hosted by Dr. Dominic Brewer, Professor and Former Dean at NYU’s Steinhardt. Members of the Hunter College School of Education who took part in the conversation included Drs. April Kisamore, Jennifer Tuten, Frank Gardella, and Marshall George, as well as Associate Dean Matthew Caballero, Vanessa Arriola, Manager of the Office of Admissions and Recruitment, and Melissa Boronkas, Director of the Office of Academic and Student Affairs.