END OF A DRY SPELL: FULBRIGHT IS BACK IN THE

UNCLAS JEDDAH 000454 SIPDIS DEPT FOR ECA/A/E/NEA-DIVES; ECA/A/E-RSWENSON; NEA/PPD-PKABRA,DBENZE,PAGNEW; NEA/ARP-JHARRIS, JBERNDT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO SA SCUL SUBJECT: END OF A DRY SPELL: FULBRIGHT IS BACK IN THE KINGDOM ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: After a five-year hiatus, the Fulbright Senior Specialist Program recently resumed in Jeddah. The Saudi Institute for Health Services (SIHS) hosted Dr. R. Kirby Barrick, Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Florida, from October 9 to October 30, 2009, for a series of workshops in Jeddah and Hafoof. Dr. Barrick was very well received and thoroughly enjoyed the experience -- his first -- in the KSA. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) After a five-year lacuna in the Fulbright Senior Specialist Program in Saudi Arabia, SIHS hosted Dr. R. Kirby Barrick, who taught four 3-day workshops -- two at SIHS and one at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah -- and another workshop at King Faisal University in Al-Hufuf, to faculty members of both genders. The workshops covered course and curriculum development, general pedagogical strategies, and advanced teaching skills. ¶3. (U) As is customary in mixed-gender environments in Saudi Arabia, the men and women who participated in the workshops sat on opposite sides of the room, but Dr. Barrick noted that the women participants were far more vocal and actively engaged in the workshops than their male counterparts, perhaps due to their advanced English-language skills. ¶4. (U) Dr. Kirby received full support from the host institution and extremely positive feedback from the workshop participants. He thoroughly enjoyed his experience in the Kingdom, and expressed his intention to promote the program among his peers in the United States. ¶5. (U) In a November 9 letter to the Consul General, received today, Dr. Barrick captures his experience in Saudi Arabia as follows: "While I will file a more complete summary of the program with the Fulbright Commission, let me summarize the experience for you. It was great! My hosts at the Saudi Institute for Health Services and King Abdulaziz University were more than gracious in meeting my every need. The faculty who participated in the four workshops were receptive and anxious leaners. They seemed to want more, so hopefully that is one indication that the program was a success.... Hopefully, my experience will lead to further collaborations between the University of Florida and the higher education community in the Kingdom, as well as increased participation in the Fulbright Senior Specialist program by U.S. faculty. Both ventures are clearly worth the while." QUINN