June 28^th. Prof. Rami Hamdallah, President of An-Najah University, received in his office at the University’s Old Campus a high delegation from the United States Consulate General in Jerusalem headed by Mr. Daniel Rubinstein, U.S. Consul General, and Mrs. Cynthia Harvey, Cultural Affairs Officer at the Consulate.

Attendees to the meeting included: University President Assistant for Strategic and International Affairs, Dr. Sam Alfoqahaa, Director of the Public Relations Department, and Steven Royle from the International Relations Office at An-Najah.

At the beginning of the meeting, Prof. Hamdallah welcomed the Consul and his delegation to An-Najah University and presented a brief description of the University, its recent developments, its faculties and study fields, as well as the role it plays in serving the local society in the different areas of life.

Moreover, the President valued the kind of cooperation that the University holds with the U.S. Consulate in a variety of fields and hoped that such relationship would expand in the future to achieve even more successful academic and student exchange work. He also described the importance of education for the Palestinians and familiarized the Consul with the new courses and majors that the University intends to offer in response to the society’s needs.

Mr. Rubinstein thanked the President for his hospitality and expressed his pleasure to visit the University. He also stressed the importance of encouraging mutual understanding and cooperation between the Palestinian and American people with respect to academic work and student exchange. Moreover, the Consul announced his support of An-Najah Teaching Hospital which he described as a huge step toward developing medicine in Palestine and providing the people with advanced medical care and services. He also said the Consulate will continue supporting the University through facilitating agreements between Palestinian and American universities.

Following the meeting, the delegation visited the American Studies Resource Center at An-Najah where Dr. Ayman Nazzal, the Center’s Director, presented a brief description of the Center, its work and programs.

Another meeting was held at Martyr Zafer Al-Masri Auditorium at the Old Campus between members of the faculty staff at An-Najah and the American delegation about the academic student exchange programs which are supported by the U.S. Government.

In the meeting, University President Assistant for Strategic and International Affairs spoke about the importance of reinforcing cultural exchange between different people saying that the American Studies Resource Center is a prime place that provides information about the world. She also spoke about the significant value of education and its role in developing societies explaining that more than 100 graduates from American universities work at An-Najah.

Mrs. Harvey thanked the University President for his efforts in supporting academic exchange between An-Najah and other universities in the United States; she also called upon members of the faculty staff to benefit from the scholarship opportunities that the U.S. Government offers such as the Fulbright scholarship.

Additionally, Mrs. Harvey said the delegation came to honor Dr. Ansam Sawalha, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at An-Najah and the Director of the Poison Control and Drug Information Center, after she was selected as a member in the Women in Science Hall of Fame.

Dr. Sawalha expressed her gratitude to Prof. Hamdallah and the U.S. Consulate for supporting her and expressed her pleasure to work at An-Najah which offers equal opportunities to scientists and researchers; she also spoke about the role of women in the society with respect to its development and well-being.

In appreciation and recognition of her great scientific efforts and achievement, Mr. Rubinstein presented a certificate of appreciation to Dr. Sawalha at the end of the meeting.

Following the second meeting, a political lecture was organized at the Conference Room at the Old Campus Library in which several students from the Departments of English and Political Sciences participated. The lecture was administered by Dr. Amanda Pilz, Deputy Political Section Chief at the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem.

Furthermore, the delegation visited the Media Center at the New Campus where they were introduced to its facilities, units and programs. Mr. Ayman Nimer, Director of the Center, presented a detailed description of the Center, its activities, work mechanisms and others. Mr. Pedro Martin, Deputy Press Attache at the U.S. Consulate, gave a lecture in which he spoke about social media and the related issues at the Cinema Hall.