Persian Gulf, here we come. With the proposed expansion of Georgetown to a campus in Doha, Qatar’s Education City, the University seems to be making a sound choice. Georgetown’s history of fiscally questionable decisions is well documented, but the Education City development could benefit the University for a number of reasons. The University should follow through and set up this new campus.
Education City provides an American university experience in the Arabian Peninsula. While we are not implying that the American university system is superior to all alternatives, Education City provides Qataris with the necessary tools and experiences to engage the Western world. The Bachelor of Sciences in Foreign Service program that Georgetown would provide is an especially important part of these new options open to Qataris. Given the shortage of Western-style universities in the Middle East, Education City will provide an important center for higher education in the Muslim world.
That Qatar, an enormously wealthy Muslim country with a hereditary monarchy, has decided to spend heavily on education is commendable, and that they have fully pursued their Education City plans, complete with the participation of upper-tier American universities, is admirable. Considering the fiscal priorties of most small, oil-rich monarchies, we can only hope that other Middle Eastern nations will follow the Qatari example.
An outpost of the University at Education City will establish a foothold for Georgetown in the Middle East. Georgetown students will be able to follow the example of Virginia Commonwealth University students and study abroad in Doha. The Office of International Programs has had trouble over the last few years establishing and maintaining programs in the Middle East, but the Doha campus would provide a long-term, secure and accredited institution where Hoyas can study in the region. The Doha campus will provide a very different experience for study abroad from the Georgetown villas in Florence and Alanya.
Georgetown will most likely benefit financially from the Education City plan. Qatar is paying for all construction and staffing expenses, and the University will receive an additional management fee. In our current fiscal straits, the University could use this sort of help-money coming from a prestigious expansion of the institution rather than another tuition hike or wage cuts to faculty.
This is not to say that there isn’t cause for some concern in the project. The idea of franchising education is questionable, but as this seems to be a growing trend-as witnessed by similar proposals in Japan and Taiwan-it is both uncharacteristic and admirable that the Administration is willing to put the University at the forefront of the movement. Assurances from the Qatari government that scholarships will be offered must be made good, as the Doha campus should not solely serve the wealthy elite of this tiny nation. Still, Qatar’s strong relationship with the United States and Georgetown University, through its sponsorship of the Center for Christian-Muslim Understanding within the School of Foreign Service should also be considered in Qatar’s favor.
Georgetown’s imminent participation in the Education City project signals an important and sensible step forward for the University. For an institution so strongly devoted to an international consciousness and so in need of financial help, the Doha campus is a great decision. We are supporting education in the Middle East, spreading knowledge and democratic principles to the Arabian Peninsula as well as benefiting financially. Georgetown should say yes to this proposal.
