Current and Future Events

The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Center for American Studies and Research is sponsoring the following lectures and events during Fall 2009-2010 Semester:

Title: Lebanese Emigration 1881-1914: How and Why the First Wave Emigration Occurred
Lecturer: Mr. Raff Ellis
Affiliation: Former CEO of R&D Information Technology Firm
Date: October 20, 2009
Time: 5 pm
Place: West Hall, Auditorium A

Raff Ellis is a prolific Lebanese-American writer of short stories and political commentary. His first full-length book, a memoir entitled Kisses from a Distance, is based in part on over 200 letters, spanning some 65 years, that his mother had saved from family and friends in Lebanon. It was published by Cune Press, Seattle, Washington, and it received an award for excellence from the Arab-American National Museum in the Adult Non-Fiction category. Mr. Ellis received a BS from LeMoyne College in Pure Science and an MBA from the University of Central Florida, and he is a former computer industry executive with a broad range of experience, including a lengthy stint in academia. He spent his entire business career in computer-related activities, rising from the position of computer programmer to become the CEO of an Information R& D firm.

Title: From Mecca to Metropolis: The Creation of THE 99
Lecturer: Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa
Affiliation: Author and Creator of THE 99 
Date: November 19, 2009
Time: 5 pm
Place: West Hall, Auditorium A

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa is the creator of THE 99-the first group of superheroes born of an Islamic archetype. Recently, Forbes named THE 99 as one of the top 20 trends sweeping the globe. Dr. Al-Mutawa holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University, a Masters in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University, a Masters in Business Administration from Columbia University and a Masters in Organizational Psychology from Teacher’s College, Columbia University. In addition to his literary work, Dr. Al-Mutawa has had extensive clinical experience working with former prisoners of war in Kuwait, as well as at the Survivors of Political Torture unit of Bellevue Hospital in New York.

Title: The History of U.S. Constitutional Principles: Civil Law Vs. Religious Imperatives
Lecturer: Dr. Donald Sharpes
Affiliation: Arizona State Univeristy
Date: November 26, 2009
Time: 5 pm
Place: West Hall, Auditorium A

Dr. Donald K. Sharpes is Professor in the Emeritus College at Arizona State University, and was a former director in the U.S. Department of Education in Washington DC. He has taught at the universities of Maryland, Maine, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Utah State, Weber State and Arizona State. He was a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Qinghai Normal University from 1988-94, and was the first American inducted as a Fellow in the China Senior Professors Association. In 2008 he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Studies group of the American Educational Research Association. He has authored 18 books and over 240 articles in the social and behavioral sciences, humanities, and teacher education. He has been published in the U.S., England, Finland, Norway, Germany (in German), India, Malaysia, China (in Chinese), Hong Kong, and Denmark (in Danish), and has lived and worked in the Middle East.

Title: The Deportation Regime 
Lecturer: Dr. Nicholas De Genova
Affiliation: University of Bern
Date: December 15, 2009
Time: 5 pm
Place: West Hall, Bathish Auditorium

Title: TBA
Lecturer: Dr. Duriel Harris
Affiliation: TBA
Date: December 17, 2009
Time: 5 pm
Place: West Hall, Auditorium A