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Dean of GAPP Announcement

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May 29, 2022

Dear AUC Community,

Following a rigorous search process over the past year, I am delighted to announce that President Ahmad Dallal and AUC’s Board of Trustees have approved my recommendation to appoint Dr. Noha El-Mikawy as the Dean of the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Dr. El-Mikawy will be joining AUC as the Dean of GAPP on August 1, 2022.

Herself a graduate of AUC (B.A. Political Science, 1982) Dr. El-Mikawy also holds an M.A. in Comparative Politics and International Relations and a PhD in Comparative Politics, both from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).  Dr. El-Mikawy is returning to AUC following a 30-year professional career that combines academic service, publication, advising and knowledge production in the policy sphere, as well as strategic and management experience in a leading US funding agency.

El-Mikawy is coming to AUC following 10 years as the Regional Director Middle East and North Africa for the Ford Foundation. She previously worked with UNDP’s Bureau of Development Policy and Regional Bureau of Arab States, providing technical advice and developing governance programs for UNDP offices across the Arab region.  In addition to being a policy practitioner, Dr. El-Mikawy’s academic background includes research development and management at the Center for Development Research at the University of Bonn, Germany, as well as teaching at UCLA, AUC, the Free University of Berlin and the University of Elangen.  Dr. El-Mikawy has published two books on Egypt with AUC press and several articles and book chapters on governance and institutional reform in Egypt and the Arab region including with Oxford and Cambridge University Press.

In discussing her thoughts on leading GAPP, she explains that “deep transformations are underway in the global economy and global affairs. Formative shifts in values, systems and processes are underway. I want to ensure that GAPP harnesses the opportunities for teaching and research that are unleashed by such transformations.” In speaking to her vision for leading the school, it is her intention “to lead a GAPP that offers a nurturing environment for faculty, researchers and staff. I want to ensure that GAPP continues to incubate young leaders and future influencers for good in global and national affairs.”

I am grateful to the search committee members, chaired by Laila Al Baradie, who worked tirelessly on the search process reviewing and interviewing a pool of top international candidates. I also thank those members of the community who attended candidate presentations and shared feedback with the search committee.

I express my deepest gratitude to Dean Nabil Fahmy, the Founding Dean of GAPP as well as a Distinguished Professor of Practice, who has shaped and led the school for the past 12 years. A former Foreign Minister of Egypt as well as the Egyptian Ambassador to the US, Dean Fahmy drew on his extensive public policy and diplomacy experience to establish and enrich GAPP’s curriculum and programs. Following the January 25th revolution, he established the popular “Tahrir Dialogues” series which initially aimed to contribute to discussions and development during Egypt’s transition phases; in April 2022. Dean Fahmy hosted the 101st Tahrir Dialogue panel. Under Dean Fahmy’s leadership GAPP has been publishing the quarterly journal The Cairo Review of Global Affairs since 2011; Dean Fahmy serves as the chairman of its editorial board. Among Dean Fahmy’s other contributions to GAPP and AUC include a strong focus on interdisciplinary programs, which helped drive joint-degree programs between GAPP and other AUC schools.  Dean Fahmy has maintained a strong focus on quality assurance in GAPP’s academic programs, as evidenced by his commitment to implementing a peer-review model for teaching within GAPP, and also leading to a number of international accreditations including the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), the European Association for Public Administration Accreditation (EAPAA) and the International Commission on Accreditation of Public Administration (IACAPA).  In recognition of these and countless other contributions to AUC and GAPP, Nabil Fahmy is being named Dean Emeritus upon his retirement. I am thankful that he will continue to be an active member of the AUC community and support Noha El-Mikawy as she transitions into her new role.

On behalf of the AUC community I look forward to welcoming Dr. Noha El-Mikawy back to AUC. 

Sincerely,

Ehab Abdel-Rahman, Provost