AUK and MTSU Sign a Memorandum of Understanding

Duhok, July 25, 2019– The American University of Kurdistan (AUK) and Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding today, the first step in launching a partnership between the two universities. Dr. Nazar Numan, Provost of AUK, signed the document in the presence of Dr. Peter Cunningham, the Vice-Provost for Academic Programs at MTSU, who traveled to AUK on behalf of MTSU. The MOU was signed by Mr. Alan R. Thomas, Vice-President of Business and Finance at MTSU.

This partnership is the first of four major U.S. university partnerships that AUK is completing this year. MTSU is located about 40 kilometers from Nashville, Tennessee, home to the largest Kurdish community in the United States. As a result of this partnership, students from Kurdistan will have the opportunity to complete part of their AUK degree at MTSU or go on to graduate study. This effectively opens up to local students the possibility of studying in over 160 different academic degree programs at MTSU at a significant cost saving of going there for four full years. In addition, students from the U.S. will be able to attend AUK for one or two years and transfer their credits to MTSU. For Kurdish students in the U.S., this will be a great opportunity to return to Kurdistan for part of their college education to reinforce their connections to Kurdistan, while for non-Kurdish students, it will be a great opportunity to learn about Kurdistan and its cultures, languages, etc. in an American-style academic setting that is safe, secure, and teaches to U.S. standards.

Michael McClellan, Director of Educational Advancement at AUK, said in his remarks that this is the first of four partnerships now being finalized. In addition to MTSU, AUK is working closely with the University of Houston, Wayne State University, and the University at Buffalo in order to develop a series of partnerships with top-rated U.S. universities so that every department and College at AUK will have a U.S. university partner. Through these partnerships, AUK students will have the opportunity to study in the U.S. and take classes with professors in top-rated programs across all departments.