Campuses in the United Arab Emirates and other countries have switched to online learning.
Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images
The escalating war with Iran has grounded American students and staff in the Middle East and closed branch campuses following Iran’s attacks on several Gulf states in retaliation for the US and Israeli bombing campaign.
Thousands of flights have been canceled across the region as Iran hits airports in Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, as well as residential buildings in Bahrain and hotels in Dubai. The Wall Street Journal report. Emergency services in Israel say at least nine people have died in an Iranian missile strike that hit a city west of Jerusalem. The US State Department on Monday asked Americans to immediately leave 12 countries in the region, including Israel, Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
But some students and staff involved in programs in the region – including from US-allied nations, which are often safe – were still struggling to return to the US on Monday, three days after the war began. They include an unknown number of Texas’s Southern Methodist University and Tennessee’s Carson-Newman University.
Southern Methodist told families in an online message Saturday that “SMU has officially canceled its program in Dubai. Local authorities have issued shelter-in-place guidance, and regional airspace conditions remain wet.”
“We are in direct contact with our students and staff in the district, and at this point, they have confirmed that they are safe.”
In an update on Sunday, the university said, “Students and faculty are following local guidance and staying safe in safe residential areas.” On Monday, SMU spokeswoman Megan Jacob said Within Higher Ed students and faculty were part of the Cox School of Business program but did not provide much additional information or interviews. “We are working to facilitate their safe return as conditions permit,” Jacob wrote in an email.
Carson-Newman University spokesman Kevin Triplett said Within Higher Ed in an email saying the center has “a group of students and faculty from the Middle East,” though he didn’t say how many. He mentioned that they were in Israel as part of an archeology program for a Christian institution but did not share their location and said that no one was available to discuss.
“Our president has spoken with team members several times over the past few days and with parents of students here in the US,” Triplett said. “They are in the process of being relocated. They are safe and in good spirits and plans are being made to bring them home.”
Times Higher Educationparent company of Within Higher Ed, reported that Qatar, the UAE and Bahrain have ordered universities in their countries to switch to online learning.
Education City, just outside of Doha, hosts the Qatar campuses of eight universities, including Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Northwestern, Texas A&M, Virginia Commonwealth and Weill Cornell Medicine. Texas A&M in Qatar has been sharing on its website scary updates from the American Embassy there.
“Missile Incoming. Missiles nearby are striking. Duck and cover until further notice. Continue to shelter in place,” the embassy warned on Saturday. On Sunday, it recommended that all Americans remain in the area, telling them to “remain vigilant, as the Iranian government and its proxies may seek to target Americans in retaliation.”
Francisco Marmolejo, president of higher education at the Qatar Foundation, which runs Education City, said in a statement that “in-person activities and events have been canceled, and classes are being held virtually.”
“Qatar Foundation (QF) is taking precautionary measures to ensure the safety and health of our students, faculty and staff,” Marmolejo said. He said Education City is home to more than 4,400 university students from more than 110 countries, and “across QF and our partner institutions, our workforce is more than 5,000 dedicated professionals.”
RIT’s Dubai campus is seeing no “direct impact” from Iran’s attack, President William Sanders said.
Rochester Institute of Technology
When the war broke out on Saturday, Rochester Institute of Technology president William H. Sanders sent a message to the public saying there was “no direct impact” on the RIT campus in Dubai. “Leadership is working with local officials and following all procedures to keep our students, faculty and staff safe,” he wrote.
Monday, RIT spokesman Bob Finerty said Within Higher Ed that the campus of about 3,500 students will stick to online learning until Wednesday. He also noted that “civil airlines have resumed limited, special flights to allow those stranded in Dubai to leave the country.”
The University of New Haven was trying to establish the world’s first branch campus in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Iran was also hit. A university spokesperson said in an email that “employees working to develop the international branch campus in Saudi Arabia are safe and accounted for.”
