Syracuse University is looking to expand its global reach with the opening of an information center and art exhibit in Dubai next month.

The center, which is slated to open following a June 17 ribbon-cutting ceremony, will be used for admissions recruitment in the area. The space will also operate as an office for professors and other SU faculty members visiting the region, said James O’Connor, principal gifts development officer of SU’s Office of Global Development.

‘It will be a portal to Syracuse in several ways, including admissions information,’ he said.

The information center’s creation was encouraged by the growing international spotlight on the Middle East, as well as strong alumni relations in the area, O’Connor said. Video loops relating to SU will play in the office and staff will be on hand to field questions about the university from visitors.

‘There’s a growing demand for knowledge about the Middle East, and we have network of alumni there who want to help us in a lot of different ways,’ O’Connor said.

Abdallah Yabroudi, an SU alumnus, first approached Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric Spina last year with the idea to open the Dubai information center. The center will not be university-owned, as Yabroudi has since covered the cost of renovation and will continue to finance the roughly $20,000 in yearly rent, O’Connor said. The 450-square-foot office is located in the United Arab Emirates-funded Knowledge Village.

SU joins a number of higher education institutions from across the world that have already established a presence in the region. Several universities operating in the village offer classes, though O’Connor said class offerings will not be a function of SU’s information center.

Chancellor Nancy Cantor, the chairman of the SU Board of Trustees and a number of other university trustees will fly to Dubai to commemorate the opening, said Kevin Quinn, SU’ s senior vice president for public affairs.

The delegation will also attend the opening of a collaborative art exhibit between the Dahesh Museum of Art and SU, according to a May 18 SU News release. The monthlong exhibit, ‘Reconnecting East and West: Islamic Ornament in 19th-Century Works from the Dahesh Museum of Art and Syracuse University,’ will open on June 18, according to the release.

dbtruong@syr.edu

Published on May 19, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Debbie: dbtruong@syr.edu | @debbietruong