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Inaugural Faculty Development Seminar

PARC’s inaugural Faculty Development Seminar took place from May 22-May 31, 2010 in Jerusalem and the West Bank. This dynamic new program is designed to expose U.S. professors to Palestine and Palestinian studies. The group in attendance was composed of 10 U.S. scholars from a variety of disciplines, and was led by Executive Director Penelope Mitchell and PARC’s Palestine Director Hadeel Qazzaz. During the Seminar, the group toured and met with professors and administrators at five West Bank universities and had presentations and discussions at several Palestinian NGOs. They also visited some of the most significant points of interest in the area, thereby witnessing everyday life in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Through their experiences during the Seminar, these professors are excited about the possibility of collaborating with their Palestinian colleagues and incorporating lessons learned into their scholarship and teaching. Indeed, some of the group plan to publish articles about their experiences, others plan to invite Palestinian colleagues to their campuses to speak, and significant research collaboration with Palestinian academics is already beginning. The reception to the Seminar was even better than we could have hoped, and we are confident that we chose worthy scholars whose future teaching and scholarship will evidence the impact of this experience. In that vein, all of the participants highly encouraged PARC to repeat this project in coming years.