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[nomadescientist]

Out of curiosity, how many Jewish professors have they managed to recruit so far? - DvF

I can't answer your question as usually only the nationality of the recruited faculty is provided, and not their ethnicity/religion. Out of curiosity, is this information in general available at your institution? Thanks.

[nomadescientist]

To answer the question: No.

Untenured

Thanks for the feedback!

[nomadescientist]

I don't think that would work or is practically possible. The idea is to have a world-class research oriented university on UAE's soil and catering for the local national students.

That said -- I don't think most US world class research oriented universities much care about local students particularly at the graduate level.

I also suggest that if they seriously want world class research types they should at least offer tenure up front (not that that is likely to get them to stay).

Absolutely. At MIT for example if feels now as if you were inside one of Beijing university campuses! However, for a small and young country like UAE it is very crucial to first develop their own human capital through higher education and research.

I also agree that tenureship is very important to attract, and possibly keep, those highly sought world-class faculty. But, there are deeper and special issues in this country that most likely will prevent this from happening for at least in the foreseen future.

Thanks for the feedback.  

[daniel_von_flanagan]

Out of curiosity, how many Jewish professors have they managed to recruit so far? - DvF

I can't answer your question as usually only the nationality of the recruited faculty is provided, and not their ethnicity/religion. Out of curiosity, is this information in general available at your institution? Thanks.

I know roughly what it is for the departments I know well (Physics, Chemistry, Math, CS).

The question isn't arbitrary.  Universities in Islamic countries are notoriously unfriendly to Jewish faculty, and this is an artificial but very real barrier to becoming a top university. The group is very strongly represented in many core academic fields. The same kind of objection would hold for any other such barrier (eg, women, bicyclists, people or who believe in Evolution), but this particular one comes immediately to mind.

This was addressed explicitly in the plans for the NYU campus in Abu Dhabi, but AFAIK Al Bloom remains the only Jewish hire.  Time will tell.

You can try to slough off the issue by pretending that the question is impertinent, but it would be disingenuous to pretend that it is a nonissue. - DvF

[nomadescientist]

Out of curiosity, how many Jewish professors have they managed to recruit so far? - DvF

I can't answer your question as usually only the nationality of the recruited faculty is provided, and not their ethnicity/religion. Out of curiosity, is this information in general available at your institution? Thanks.

I know roughly what it is for the departments I know well (Physics, Chemistry, Math, CS).

The question isn't arbitrary.  Universities in Islamic countries are notoriously unfriendly to Jewish faculty, and this is an artificial but very real barrier to becoming a top university. The group is very strongly represented in many core academic fields. The same kind of objection would hold for any other such barrier (eg, women, bicyclists, people or who believe in Evolution), but this particular one comes immediately to mind.

This was addressed explicitly in the plans for the NYU campus in Abu Dhabi, but AFAIK Al Bloom remains the only Jewish hire.  Time will tell.

You can try to slough off the issue by pretending that the question is impertinent, but it would be disingenuous to pretend that it is a nonissue. - DvF

I see your point. I think the issue is much deeper than just some academic positions at some university: It is related to over a half a century-old problem in the region. Unfortunately, I can't see the situation changing in the foreseen future.

(First time I hear that "bicyclists" are discriminated against in academia!).

Thanks,
NS   

[quoog]

I think the answer is pretty obviously no. There are many countries which are trying to do this sort of thing, and it's very hard. China is a classic example. They clearly produce excellent scientists and engineers, have the will and money to grow their universities, yet still their universities are far behind the US's. The best Chinese scientists still prefer to come here, because the US is the center of world science and life here is much freer and still much wealthier than back home.

The UAE pretty much only has money to offer. The universities in the region are mediocre. The nearest country with top notch universities is Israel, and I suspect they would frown upon their professors collaborating with Israelis. Academics value freedom in general, and the UAE is a pretty repressive society. Suppose you were a top scientist for sale to foreign bidders. Do you think you'd pick the UAE, even if they were the highest bid? 

[daniel_von_flanagan]

Suppose you were a top scientist for sale to foreign bidders. Do you think you'd pick the UAE, even if they were the highest bid? 

There's another thread - on KAUST - where one repeated poster thinks the answer is "yes", and that KAUST has already succeeded in buying the best.  of course, his examples are not very compelling, and the posts read much like attempts to self-validate. - DvF

[martins]

Suppose you were a top scientist for sale to foreign bidders. Do you think you'd pick the UAE, even if they were the highest bid? 

There's another thread - on KAUST - where one repeated poster thinks the answer is "yes", and that KAUST has already succeeded in buying the best.  of course, his examples are not very compelling, and the posts read much like attempts to self-validate. - DvF

That poster does not believe that KAUST has succeeded in "buying" the best, rather the best are falling over themselves to join KAUST (because of its unprecedented research potential) rejecting offers from Harvard, MIT and Stanford in the process.

I think that guy is a KAUST PR person, rather than a new faculty as he claims.

[daniel_von_flanagan]

That poster does not believe that KAUST has succeeded in "buying" the best, rather the best are falling over themselves to join KAUST (because of its unprecedented research potential)

Strictly speaking, he says it is because of their research facilities.

I'm inclined to think that that poster is legitimate, based on his earlier posting in another thread.  However, I think you and I are otherwise roughly on the same page. - DvF

[hopefulbutuntenured]

The UAE pretty much only has money to offer. The universities in the region are mediocre.

The howling ignorance, to put it kindly, that you display in the comment above shows that you know absolutely nothing about universities in the UAE. While there are of course mediocre institutions in the country, that is no different from anywhere else, especially the U.S. It is such stereotypes ("the UAE is a pretty repressive society") that continue to fuel prejudice against the most progressive culture in the Middle East.

The miracle of the higher education in the UAE is precisely the quality it has achieved in the last 15 years, since most of its universities were founded in the early 1990s. We're talking about a country that didn't even technically exist 40 years ago and that now is poised to compete with the best. To dwell on hackneyed caricatures is to betray one's own narrow-mindedness and obtuseness.

[sciencephd]

While there are of course mediocre institutions in the country, that is no different from anywhere else, especially the U.S. It is such stereotypes ("the UAE is a pretty repressive society") that continue to fuel prejudice against the most progressive culture in the Middle East.

The miracle of the higher education in the UAE is precisely the quality it has achieved in the last 15 years, since most of its universities were founded in the early 1990s. We're talking about a country that didn't even technically exist 40 years ago and that now is poised to compete with the best. To dwell on hackneyed caricatures is to betray one's own narrow-mindedness and obtuseness.

Two minutes of googling would suggest otherwise:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_the_United_Arab_Emirates


And if you're gay you go to jail.

So don't get too excited about the "most progressive culture in the Middle East"

[quoog]

I happen to be Jewish. I have never been to Israel and don't have any strong pro-Israel or anti-Israel views. But there would be so much hostility towards me there I wouldn't not be able to live there. I would say this qualifies as repressive. Also, whether you like it or not, the UAE is a dictatorship. The state controls everything. Speech is restricted. Recall E stands for Emirates. Are you familiar with what an emir is?

That wikipedia article is a pretty good description of what goes on in these countries. And I am familiar with the universities in the UAE in terms of research. No one would dispute that in my field, the top university in the UAE has a worse department than the worst US research university department. This is because the competition for US research positions is so fierce. The thought of UAE university reaching top 100 status is just laughable. You have countries like Singapore and China which have plenty of money to offer people, and are furthermore are capable of producing competent scientists, and even they have trouble reaching top 100 status.

Incidentally those countries don't discriminate in hiring.. believe it or not Singapore recently snagged a top geologist who is gay after assuring him he could live openly with his partner. In UAE not only would no gay in the universe consider moving there, but I think it would be hard to find say a female professor who would tolerate living there. And Jews, unless they are very openly anti-Israel they wouldn't be welcome there either.

The UAE pretty much only has money to offer. The universities in the region are mediocre.

The howling ignorance, to put it kindly, that you display in the comment above shows that you know absolutely nothing about universities in the UAE. While there are of course mediocre institutions in the country, that is no different from anywhere else, especially the U.S. It is such stereotypes ("the UAE is a pretty repressive society") that continue to fuel prejudice against the most progressive culture in the Middle East.

The miracle of the higher education in the UAE is precisely the quality it has achieved in the last 15 years, since most of its universities were founded in the early 1990s. We're talking about a country that didn't even technically exist 40 years ago and that now is poised to compete with the best. To dwell on hackneyed caricatures is to betray one's own narrow-mindedness and obtuseness.

[daniel_von_flanagan]

It is such stereotypes ("the UAE is a pretty repressive society") that continue to fuel prejudice against the most progressive culture in the Middle East.

Statements like this are a good way to completely eradicate any credibility you might otherwise have had. - DvF

[hopefulbutuntenured]

Two minutes of googling would suggest otherwise:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_the_United_Arab_Emirates


And if you're gay you go to jail.

So don't get too excited about the "most progressive culture in the Middle East"

From the linked Wiki: "Human rights in the United Arab Emirates are violated by numerous fundamental practices and policies according to the U.S. Department of State annual report on human rights practices."

Isn't it ironic that this report was produced by the same country that refuses to sign the UN ban on renditions and secret detention? Guantanamo Bay anyone?

Pot, meet kettle, kettle...

[hopefulbutuntenured]

quoog: Note that I chose my words carefully when praising the state of higher education in the UAE. I did put forth that the UAE is "poised to compete with the best," but not that this should be a given. I should also qualify that I meant such competition to be measured against worldwide universities at the same level, i.e. SLACs (for the most part), rather than Ivy League-level universities. Which is to say that I also find laughable the notion that any UAE university can reach top-100-in-the-world status within 5 years. It's simply not possible, though given the rapid pace of expansion and development it is simply a matter of time before it happens. One of the great advantages the UAE has over its Arabic counterparts is that it isn't steep in traditions that tend to hamper R & D. I have mostly Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan in mind--countries with enormous potential but bogged down by bureaucracy, the threat of terrorism, and religious fundamentalism.

To also address daniel_von_flanagan, when I characterized the UAE as "the most progressive culture in the Middle East" I meant it apart from Israel. I should have included that caveat of course. Homophobia is a blight on all ME societies and the UAE is no exception. That said, Dubai has a vibrant gay community, with hangouts and clubs well-known to tourists and locals alike. Yes, homosexuality is illegal, but so is heterosexual co-habitation. It's an Islamic society after all (not that I'm defending it on those grounds; it simply is what it is). And yet despite all that, the UAE continues to be nothing short of an oasis in an otherwise cauldron of troubles in the region.