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Prof. Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim

Prof. Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim

PRESIDENT / PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

Professor Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim is a UAE national and received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Seattle University, USA, in 1981 with magna cum laude.

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Prof. Stephen Wilhite

Prof. Stephen Wilhite

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND STUDENT SUCCESS / PROVOST / PROFESSOR – PSYCHOLOGY

Professor Stephen C. Wilhite currently serves as vice president for academic affairs and student success / provost at the American University of Ras Al Khamiah.

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Mr. Basheer Daoud

Mr. Basheer Daoud

VICE PRESIDENT - OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

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.

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Mr. Kevin Scott Konecny

Mr. Kevin Scott Konecny

ASSOCIATE PROVOST FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS

Kevin S. Konecny serves as the Associate Provost for Student Affairs at the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK). Konecny has 31 years of higher education experience in the United States and in a number of other countries, including Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, China, Guam, and the United Kingdom.

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Dr. Mohamed Al Zarooni

Dr. Mohamed Al Zarooni

ASSOCIATE PROVOST FOR RESEARCH AND COMMUNITY SERVICE / ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR - CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Dr. Mohamed Al Zarooni is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering of the Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department.  He is a UAE National from the city of Dubai.

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Prof. Joseph Wallis

Prof. Joseph Wallis

DEAN - SCHOOL OF BUSINESS / PROFESSOR - MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

Professor Joseph L. Wallis currently serves as Dean of the School of Business at the American University of Ras Al Khaimah. Prior to assuming this position, he was a Professor of Economics and Public Administration at the American University of Sharjah (2003-2018) during which time he served as Head of the Department of Management (2005-2016). 

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Prof. Khalid Hussain

Prof. Khalid Hussain

DEAN - SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING / PROFESSOR OF SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

Professor Khalid Hussain is the Dean of the School of Engineering at AURAK. He is also a Professor of Systems Engineering and a Chartered Mechanical Engineer. Prof Hussain joined AURAK after spending 6 years at the Australian University of Wollongong in Dubai as the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences.

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Prof. Hariclea Zengos

Prof. Hariclea Zengos

DEAN - SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES / PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH QEP

Professor Hariclea Zengos currently serves as Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at the American University of Ras Al Khaimah. Prior to assuming this position, she served as senior associate dean for academic affairs and professor-in-residence of English and American Studies at Northwestern University in Qatar.

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Last updated: Sep 19, 2022 @ 8:13 am

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Prof. Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim

PRESIDENT / PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

Professor Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim is a UAE national and received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Seattle University, USA, in 1981 with magna cum laude.

Prof. Al Alkim joined the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) in January 1982 as a teaching assistant before acquiring his Ph.D. He joined the University of Exeter, UK, for his graduate studies where he finished his Master of Arts and Doctorate of Philosophy in International Relations in 1986.  He became a faculty member in September 1986. During his years at UAEU, Prof. Al Alkim taught international relations courses as well as some general requirements offered by the Political Science Department. He served the university through his membership in the different academic committees, becoming a head of department and engaged in the process of development.

Prof. Al Alkim spent part of his academic life visiting other academic institutions, including UCLA in the spring of 1991 on the Fulbright program, the School of Oriental & African Studies at the University of London from 1992 to 1993, and the University of Reading from 2009 to 2011. He enjoys academic and social membership of a number of the local, regional and international associations and societies. He is also a member of the Institute for International Research.

Prof. Al Alkim has an extensive list of publications in both Arabic and English. His books include: The Foreign Policy of the United Arab Emirates (1989), The GCC States in an Unstable World: The Foreign Policy Dilemma of the Small States (1994), and The Dynamic of the Arab States Foreign Policy-Making in the Twenty-First Century (2011). He has more than 26 articles published in internationally abstracted or refereed journals.

Prof. Al Alkim had previously served in a number of official positions before being appointed as the president of the American University of Ras Al Khaimah. These positions include chair of the RAK Research and Follow-Up Authority, the director-general of RAK Economic Development Department, chairman of the Department of Political Science, UAEU, and an advisor to the Ras Al Khaimah government.

Prof. Stephen Wilhite

VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND STUDENT SUCCESS / PROVOST / PROFESSOR – PSYCHOLOGY

Professor Stephen C. Wilhite currently serves as vice president for academic affairs and student success / 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.

Before becoming provost at Widener, Prof. Wilhite served the institution as associate provost for graduate studies and dean of the School of Human Service Professions.  In those roles, he led the development of numerous new graduate programs that contributed significantly both to the university’s enrollment and to its reputation for academic excellence.  Prof. Wilhite helped lead the development of Widener’s undergraduate honors program and served as the first director of that program.

Prof. Wilhite earned his bachelor of science degree with highest honors in psychology from Emory University and his D.Phil. in human experimental psychology from the University of Oxford, where he studied on a Marshall Scholarship.  Prof. Wilhite also completed a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Institute for Mental Health at the Center for the Study of Reading at the University of Illinois.  As a professor of psychology at Millikin University and at Widener University, he taught courses in human learning, memory, and motivation, developmental psychology, the psychology of hypnosis, and research methodology.

Prof. Wilhite’s current research interests include applied cognitive psychology and educational psychology, especially in relation to civic and community engagement, emotional competence, higher education leadership, and faculty development.   He co-authored the book, Learning and Memory: The Basis of Behavior (1992) and co-edited the book, Civic Engagement and Service Learning in a Metropolitan University:  Multiple Approaches and Perspectives (2011). He has also written numerous research articles that have appeared in journals such as Educational Management Administration and Leadership, Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, and the Journal of Educational Psychology.

Prof. Wilhite’s service to the higher education community has included membership on accreditation site visit teams for the Middles States Commission on Higher Education and membership on the Commission for Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education and the Commission on Learning, Instruction, and Technologies of the University Professional and Continuing Education Association.

 

Mr. Basheer Daoud

VICE PRESIDENT – OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

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.

Mr. Kevin Scott Konecny

ASSOCIATE PROVOST FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS

Kevin S. Konecny serves as the Associate Provost for Student Affairs at the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK). Konecny has 31 years of higher education experience in the United States and in a number of other countries, including Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, China, Guam, and the United Kingdom.  Most of that experience has been in student affairs administration, including leadership of residence life, student activities, student clubs and organization, student government, orientation programs, student publications, student leadership development initiatives, study abroad, international student programs, recruitment, academic integrity, and conflict resolution.

In the U.S., Mr. Konecny held leadership positions at the University of Central Florida, the University of Michigan, Bowling Green State University, and Seminole State College of Florida.   His experience in the Arabian Gulf includes serving as the founding Director of Campus and Residence Life with the Qatar Foundation in Education City, Doha, Qatar. Education City is home to six U.S. branch campus institutions (Georgetown University, Carnegie Mellon University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Cornell University, Northwestern University and Texas A&M University), and Mr. Konecny was responsible for the campus residential master planning process in collaboration with university partners in Education City. In addition, Konecny served in leadership roles, at the executive level, in China (Baocheng Education Group), Saudi Arabia (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) and in Kuwait (American International College of Kuwait).

Mr. Konecny earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at the University of Maine at Farmington and a Master of Science in Education degree in Counseling Psychology from Saint Bonaventure University (New York). He is currently a doctoral candidate in Organizational Leadership at the University of the Potomac in Washington, D.C. In addition, Mr. Konecny earned a certificate from the Institute for Leading Internationalization through the Center for Internationalization and Global Engagement of the American Council on Education (ACE).

Dr. Mohamed Al Zarooni

ASSOCIATE PROVOST FOR RESEARCH AND COMMUNITY SERVICE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR – CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Dr. Mohamed Al Zarooni is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering of the Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department. He is a UAE National from the city of Dubai. He previously taught at UAE University for 17 years, where he was the Dean of the University General Requirement Unit (Foundation Year) for seven years and the Director of the Continuing Education Center for seven years. He has experience working for Dubai Aluminum Company (DUBAL), Doosan Heavy Industries Water Research Center, and the Federal Electricity and Water Authority (FEWA). In additions to his research and teaching interests, he is devoted to developing students’ motivation and skills.

Prof. Joseph Wallis

DEAN OF SCHOOL OF BUSINESS / PRFESSOR – MANAGEMENT

Professor Joseph L. Wallis has served as Dean of the School of Business at the American University of Ras Al Khaimah since 2018.  His primary focus has been in developing and steering leadership team and faculty toward the implementation of a mission-based strategy so that it will be judged ready to receive initial accreditation by AACSB after a visit by a peer review team in February 2023.  This strategy has resulted in continuous improvements in the areas of enriching student experiences, enhancing academic rigor, assuring student learning, placing program development on a sustainable path, enhancing the quality and impact of faculty research, expanding community outreach, building linkages with industry and academic partners, enhancing the career development of faculty and ensuring high quality student advising

Prior to assuming this position, he was a Professor of Economics and Public Administration at the American University of Sharjah (2003-2018) during which time he served as Head of the Department of Management (2005-2016).  He also played a lead role in processes through which the School of Business Administration in this institution gained initial accreditation in 2011 with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and subsequent re-accreditation with this body in 2016.

Before his appointment at the American University of Sharjah, Prof. Wallis was a faculty member in the Departments of Economics at the University of Otago in New Zealand from 1987 to 2003 and Rhodes University in South Africa from 1984 to 1987.  During his academic career which commenced after the completion of his PhD in Economics at Rhodes University in 1984, he was able to launch a program of scholarly research and professional consulting that has become increasingly cross-disciplinary and now encompasses the areas of economics, public administration, public policy, leadership and ethics.  This is currently reflected in a publication record, cited over 2000 times by Google Scholar, that includes five favorably reviewed scholarly books by reputable UK publishers (Market Failure, Government Failure, Leadership and Public policy; The Political Economy of Local Government: Leadership, Reform and Market Failure; The Political Economy of the Voluntary Sector: A Reappraisal of the Comparative Advantage of Voluntary Organizations; Reform and Leadership in the Public Sector; and An International Handbook of Public Management Reform) as well as over ninety refereed articles including those in journals such as World Development, Governance, Public Administration; Public Policy and Administration; Internet  Research and Public Management Review.  Prof. Wallis is also an experienced university teacher having taught courses in public economics, public choice, macroeconomics, leadership, business ethics and public policy and delivered executive training courses mainly in the areas of leadership and public policy.

Prof. Khalid Hussain

DEAN – SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING / PROFESSOR OF SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

Professor Khalid Hussain is the Dean of the School of Engineering at AURAK. He is also a Professor of Systems Engineering and a Chartered Mechanical Engineer. Prof Hussain joined AURAK after spending 6 years at the Australian University of Wollongong in Dubai as the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences. Prof Hussain spent over 22 years at the University of Bradford in UK, holding a number of leadership roles (Head of School of Engineering, Associate Dean of International Collaborative Partnership, and the Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering). Prof Hussain also worked for 4 years as an Automotive Refinement project engineer at the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA), UK.

Prof Hussain served as UKQAA Institutional Quality Audit Reviewer, and as External Examiner at the University of Brighton and the University of Hertfordshire (UK).

Prof Hussain’s bachelor degree is in Applied Mathematics from Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. His PhD titled “Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Vehicle Noise and Vibration” was from Loughborough University of Technology, UK. Prof Hussain’s research interest are in the area of Automotive Noise and Vibration Refinement, Automotive Systems Dynamics and Control, and Mathematical and Computational Modelling of Water Flow and Sediment Transport. Prof Hussain published over 50 research papers in reputable journals and conferences and supervised to completion over 15 PhD and MPhil research students.

Prof. Hariclea Zengos

DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES / PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH

Professor Hariclea Zengos currently serves as Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at the American University of Ras Al Khaimah.

Prior to assuming this position, she served as senior associate dean for academic affairs and professor-in-residence of English and American Studies at Northwestern University in Qatar. Previously, she served as associate dean for academic affairs in the Office of the Provost at the American College of Greece, where she also served as associate dean in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the director of the English Language Program, and department head for English and Modern Languages. Her administrative achievements have focused on academic excellence and institutional improvement.

Professor Zengos holds a PhD in English from Tufts University and an MA in English from Clark University. She also earned an MEd at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education where she studied higher education administration, and has a BA in English from the American College of Greece. Prior to her appointments in Athens, she was a lecturer in English at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA and also taught English composition at Tufts while completing her doctorate there.

Professor Zengos’ scholarly publications include an edited volume on Eleftherios Venizelos: Unknown Aspects of the Man as well as various book chapters and refereed articles and papers on postcolonial and world literature in English and contemporary American literature. Her honors, awards, and other recognitions include fellowships at Yale’s Gilder Lehman Institute of American History and the Salzburg Global Seminar. In 2017 she was invited by New York University’s Faculty Resource Network to co-direct a faculty seminar on “Uprooted and Displaced: Refugees, Immigrants, and Exiles in World Literature.”