Office of the President

Dr. David A. Schmidt

President / Professor of Global Studies

K 366

+971 7 246 8802

Dr. Schmidt is a seasoned administrator with over 33 years of broad-based experience as an executive academic leader and faculty member, spanning a wide range of public, private, and international institutions. Before joining AURAK, he served as President of the American University in Dubai (AUD), and Vice Provost for International Affairs and Professor of Global Studies and Human Geography at Middle Tennessee State University. He has held various leadership positions and played a vital role in transforming a range of public, private, and state institutions, representing the landscape of higher education, including the University of the Pacific, the University of Wisconsin System, and Yale University. Dr. Schmidt holds a Ph.D. from Saint Louis University, an MA from The Ohio State University, and a BA from the University of Wisconsin. He has written extensively on post-WWII women’s rights and education issues in Japan and South Korea. He is a recipient of the AIEA (Association of International Administrators) Presidential Fellowship, the Korea Foundation Research Fellowship, and the Mombushō Fellowship. He also participated as a fellow in Harvard University’s IEM (Institute for Educational Management).

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Prof. Stephen Wilhite

Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Success / Provost / Professor - Psychology

H 301 F

+971 7 246 8700

Professor Stephen C. Wilhite currently serves as vice president for academic affairs and student success, and provost, at the American University of Ras Al Khamiah. Prior to assuming this position, he served as senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at Widener University in the United States from 2011 to 2017, and during that time also served as the interim president of the university. As provost at Widener, Prof. Wilhite co-led the university’s strategic planning process and the successful application for re-accreditation by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

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Mr. Basheer Daoud

Vice President – Operational Excellence and Financial Management

F - 1st Flr.

+971 7 246 8901

Mr. Basheer Daoud serves as the Vice President of Operational Excellence and Financial Management at the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK). He has over 30 years rich experience in finance, internal audit, public accounting and enterprise risk management including 18 years in senior management roles gaining these experiences from across different countries specifically in UAE, Canada, Oman and Yemen. Before joining AURAK, he held a senior leadership position as the Executive Director of Finance at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) with many key achievements including where he led efforts to establish and manage investment strategy for endowments, created financial modeling for future financial planning, negotiated and restructured key government receivables, led and implemented transformation plans for Finance and Procurement that are based on people, processes and technology, put in place and implemented numerous financial policies and procedures. Before being appointed as the Executive Director of Finance, Mr. Basheer served as the Director of Internal Audit at AUS where he demonstrated his proficient understanding and implementation of IFRS, US GAAP, COSO framework, IIA Core Principles for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing. Mr. Basheer held key positions in various industries including a large steel manufacturing company in Canada, global energy and chemicals company in Yemen and big four audit firm in Oman and UAE. Mr. Basheer holds an Executive Masters in Business Administration (EMBA) degree from the American University of Sharjah and Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Business Administration from the University of Jordan. He is also a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) earning both certifications from the U.S.

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Mr. Tawfiq Abu Hantash

Associate Professor of Architecture Design, History and Theory. Advisor to the President for Campus Development

K – 364

+971 7 246 8704

Cofounder and principal designer at GDAR (Group for Design and Architectural Research) which was established in Amman on 1991 and has offices in Palestine, UAE and Morocco. Tawfiq holds a Masters Degree in Architecture from MIT 1989 and a BS from the University of Jordan1983.

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Ms. Amanda Forte

Chief Strategy and Excellence Officer

K - 2nd Floor – K359

+971 7 246 8818

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Mr. Rajesh Prema

Interim Associate Provost for Enrollment Management / Director, Marketing & Communications

D - 1st Flr.

+971 7 246 8806

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