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BLOOMINGTON -- Illinois Wesleyan University is taking another step to globalize its campus, forging a partnership with a northern Africa campus. On June 11, the university will send nine faculty and staff members to the predominantly Muslim nation of Morocco for two weeks. | Fast facts: All about Morocco

“The campus is set high in the Middle Atlas mountains,” said Stacey Shimizu, IWU’s international office director and one of the trip leaders.

The program combines faculty and staff development with a goal to create a campus that fosters an understanding of international culture, said Frank Boyd, dean of faculty and one of the Moroccan Initiative organizers.

“Our graduates will find themselves in an increasingly globalized world, no matter what they choose to do,” said Boyd.

Illinois Wesleyan was recognized last year by the Institute on International Education, noting the high percentage of IWU students who take part in overseas’ study and the campus’ efforts to increase its international population.

Provost Beth Cunningham in March traveled to India for a trip to develop partnerships with schools in that nation, as well.

The Moroccan Initiative

The Moroccan Initiative grew from President Dick Wilson’s participation in a convention about developing connections between Western and Islamic institutions. IWU earned a grant to explore such collaborations.

Boyd led a group that has traveled to Al Akhawayn University in Morocco; and Al Zaytoona University and Arab Open University, both in Amman, Jordan.

Al Akhawayn seemed the best fit, especially because classes are taught in English, Wilson said when announcing the trip last fall.

Teaming up with a school allows IWU to gain a better understanding of Islamic culture by participating and observing life in it, noted Zahia Drici, general education director and math professor. Drici was born in neighboring Algeria and raised in France.

On the Al Akhawayn campus, classes are taught in English. The Moroccan education system educates primary students in Arabic, and secondary students in French. Drici speaks all three and will translate for the group.

The IWU group spent this semester meeting in weekly to share presentations and learn about the nation and its school system.

Besides Shimizu and Drici, other group members are Carolyn Nadau, Hispanic Studies department chairman; Abigail Jahiel, environmental studies director and political science professor; Ilaria Osella-Durbal and Diego Mendez-Carbajo, both economics professors; Lynda Duke of Ames Library; Robyn Walters of the career counseling center; and Rachel Hatch of the university communications office.



FYI


• Al Akahawayn University is in Ifrane, northern Morocco, in the Middle Atlas mountains near Fes. The campus was created in 1995.

• Morocco is on the northeastern coast of Africa, west of Algeria and south of Spain. Major cities include Fes, Marrakech, Rabat, Casablanca and Tangier.

• The official religion is Sunni Islam.

• Its history of urban architecture goes back 1,000 years and includes mosques, medinas, and Kasbahs.

SOURCES: “DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Morocco”; and IWU staff