About 45 Saudi students are expected to enroll at Grand Valley State University throughout the 2006-07 academic year. They are some of the 5,000 Saudi students who will attend American colleges and universities under a scholarship program created by the Saudi government and supported by U.S. officials.
To help the students get acquainted with Grand Valley and the community, the Padnos International Center created a new part-time position. Suzane Itani, Saudi Arabian student services coordinator, said she will also hold training sessions for faculty and staff over the summer to help them understand the cultural differences Saudi students could present.
"For example, if the students don't participate in class, I don't want faculty to take it the wrong way. They may be very quiet in class, but it's their way of learning," Itani said. "Women here have lots of power and are equal to men; men in Saudi Arabia are quite segregated from women for cultural respect."
Itani is a recent GVSU graduate and has been president of the Arab Culture Club. Her parents are from Lebanon but she lives in Grand Rapids.
Jim Crawley, Grand Valley associate director for International Recruitment, was part of a small contigent who traveled to Washington, D.C., to give a presentation about Grand Valley to Saudi officials. After the presentation Crawley said the university was placed on a list of "approved schools" Saudi students could attend.
"Creating this position is really a forward-thinking move for Grand Valley," he said. "It's important with any population to understand cultures and it's crucial to train the campus community. We're not asking our people to change or the Saudi students to change, but adding Suzane's position will benefit everyone."
Grand Valley annually hosts about 150 international students. Kate Stoetzner, director of International Student and Scholar Services, said Grand Valley signed a letter of intent with other Michigan universities to investigate the possibilities of recruiting more Saudi students to the state.
With so many choices, why would Saudi students choose Grand Valley? Itani said reasons include the university's proximity to Dearborn (home to the largest Arab population in the U.S.) and that Grand Valley has a partnership with ELS Language Centers. The center is in the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences; about 45 foreign students and professionals take language classes there.
Contacts: Suzane Itani and Kate Stoetzner (616) 331-3898; Jim Crawley (616) 331-2025
