PLYMOUTH-Twenty years after requesting a new Middle East specialist for the Social Science department at Plymouth State University, the process for hiring has finally begun.
The faculty members are currently sorting through 33 applications trying to decide which candidate is the best choice for PSU. Recognizing the importance of studying the Middle East, the department is hoping to find a candidate qualified to instruct upper level undergraduate courses in the Middle East as well as introductory level courses in international relations. The applicants are coming not only from across the nation but from all over the world. “What’s exciting is the number of candidates of diverse background,” Stated Associate Professor Dr. Sheryl Shirley.
Some of the countries from which applicants are coming from include Finland, Pakistan and Turkey. Dr. Robert Egbert, Associate Professor of political science, commented, “I think we have one from every continent.”
But PSU isn’t the only university in the nation pursuing a new Middle East specialist. It’s become evident since September 11 that the United States is in desperate need for a Middle Eastern education and the best way to implement this education is through university studies.
According to the DailyPrinceton of Princeton, New Jersey the demand for these specialists in American universities has increased from two to three a year to the post September 11 average of 200 to 300. While Middle East education has increased in the United States, the long list of international applicants would indicate an international trend as well.
Numerous web sites are dedicated to the observation of this trend to ensure that these new specialists are teaching about Islamic culture, not preaching to recruit new martyrs. Ironically, it will be the education and a better understanding of the Middle Eastern and Islamic culture that will prevent such occurrences.
After reviewing all the applications, the faculty will choose their top ten candidates and bring them to PSU for interviews. The candidates will not only face the faculty during the interview, but there will also be a group of selected students to ask questions. These students will get to meet with the candidate and help decide whether the applicant is PSU material.
For the students, being part of the hiring panel offers not only the experience of serving on a hiring committee, but also the privilege of helping to shape the social science faculty for the future of PSU.
Social Science major Carla Bono is one of those students participating in the interview process: “To me it is the professors who make this school what it is, and it is an honor to be part of interviewing potential PSU faculty.”
The process of hiring the new professor is expected to begin in mid-March.