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DU Community in the Iftar Gathering |
Dhofar University held an Iftar Gathering at the Crowne Plaza Resort on Wednesday the 16th of September, on the occasion of the Holy Month of Ramadan, and to welcome new staff and faculty who had recently joined DU. Prof. Muhammad Faour, Vice Chancellor of Dhofar University, Dr. Hussein Yaghi, Dean of the College of Arts and Applied Sciences, Dr. Nimr Eid, Dean of the College of Commerce and Business Administration, Prof. Farid Chaaban, Dean of the College of Engineering, a number of students, a number of Heads of Government Departments in the region and members of D.U faculty and staff attended the gathering.
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Prof. Muhammad Faour giving his welcoming speech |
The ceremony began with a speech by Prof. Muhammad Faour, welcoming his guests and explaining the coming steps in the development of Dhofar University. He said, “I would like to welcome all returning and new faculty and staff to the academic year 2007/2008 .It’s a nice occasion now that we have Ramadan and the beginning of a new academic year at the same time. Iftar Gathering has become an annual ritual at Dhofar University and we love to have every one of you at this occasion and this Holy Month of Ramadan to get together at an informal gathering.” Then he explained the coming steps in the development of Dhofar University, comparing last year with this year: “Last year we started a number of important initiatives that have strategic value; one was a comprehensive review of the Foundation Program, its structure, curriculum, teaching methods, methods of assessment and qualifications of faculty. It's all under new management and the recommendations that we’ve come up with are being implemented; we started to implement them last year and we are continuing to implement them this year. As you may know, the Foundation Program in Dhofar University is a very important program, since it’s the only gateway to regular academic programs and that’s why we need to strengthen its contents and to raise its standards in order to align it with the national quality standards established by the Oman Accreditation Council.”
Prof. Faour then spoke about the accreditation process at DU. He said, “We are striving to achieve high quality in all our academic programs. Again this would be in line with international standards and we started last year to do a lot of work on SWOT Analysis. We’ll be completing this pretty soon and moving on to doing a comprehensive self study in preparation for the quality audit visit by the Oman Accreditation Council. All of this is in line with our mission and vision and in line with His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed's directive to ensure quality in all academic programs and universities in the Sultanate.
He finished his speech by saying “I’m pleased to inform you that the delegation from the Ministry of Higher Education who came last year to inspect services and programs wrote a very positive report about the improvements that have taken place in the University and as a result we have been given more scholarships for students this year. Finally, the University is still a young university striving to achieve a lot in a short period of time. We hope to occupy a recognized position among quality higher education institutes,but this requires the perseverance, the hard work and the dedication of all of you. I’m counting on your hard work, on your dedication and on your qualifications.”
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Prof. Farid Chaaban introducing new faculty |
After Prof. Faour’s speech, the new faculty members were introduced by the Deans of the three Colleges. He first introduced Prof. Farid Chaaban, the new Dean of the College of Engineering, who introduced the new faculty of his College:
Ms. JoAnna Almasude, Assistant Prof. in Graphic Design
Mohammed Al-Ani, Assistant Prof. in Interior Architecture
Dr. Naser Nawayseh, Assistant Prof. in Mechanical Engineering
Dr. Ra'fat Al-Waked, Assistant Prof. in Mechanical Engineering
Dr. Marwan El Tannir, Assistant Prof. in Electrical and Computer Engineering
Dr. K. Ramasamy, Assistant Prof. in Electrical and Computer Engineering
Mr. Hani Samadi, Lab Technician
Mr. Mohammad Gidad, Lab Assistant
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Dr. Hussein Yaghi introducing new faculty |
Dr. Hussein Yaghi then introduced his new faculty members:
Nafaa Jabeur, Assistant Prof. in Computer Science
Dr. Amar Al Masude, Assistant Prof. in Information Technology
Dr. Ramez Al Bainy, Assistant Prof. in Translation
Mrs. Amani Abu Atieh, Instructor in Translation
Mrs. Helen Woerner, Assistant Prof. in Math
Mr. Salem Al Mashani, Instructor in Arabic Language
Mr. Rudra P. Mohapatro, Instructor in English Language
Dr. Adel George., Associate Prof. in Math
Dr. Edwin Woerner, Assistant Prof. in Math
Dr. Sabir Siddiqi, Assistant Prof. in Statistics
Dr. Johny B. Decatoria, Assistant Prof. in Social Work
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Dr. Nimr Eid introducing new faculty |
Dr. Nimr Eid followed by introducing the new faculty member in the College of Commerce and Business Administration:
Mohammed Aref, Lecturer in MIS
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Ms. Annie Lajinian introducing new faculty |
Finally Ms. Annie Lajinian, Director of the Foundation Program Unit introduced the new faculty in the Unit:
Mr. Faysal Hamadi, Instructor in English
Mr. George Kolanchery, Instructor in English
Mr. V.Maruthi Kumari, Instructor in English
Mr. Julius Sundararaj, Instructor in English
Mr. Merin John Charuvila, Instructor in English
Ms. Roshini Mathews, Instructor in English
Ms. Rama Devi Sakhamuri, Instructor in English
Ms. Razia Khan, Instructor in English
Mr. Faisal Muzaffar, Instructor in English
Mr. Aladdin Assaiqeli, Instructor in English
Ms. Zina Bowey, Instructor in English
Ms. Maya Nair, Instructor in English
Mr. Shadi El Hajjar, Instructor in Computer and Math
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Prof. Muhammad Faour
with new non- academic staff |
Students performing a comic sketch |
After the new faculty members were introduced, some students preformed a comic sketch called “Ramadan Kareem”. The guests reported that they had enjoyed their evening and had been impressed by the nicely organized gathering. They also affirmed the positive effects of these types of gatherings in bringing DU staff and faculty closer to each other. It is hoped that these occasions will continue to happen on a regular basis.
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