U of A Faculty Visit Tunisia in Push for Graduate Recruiting, Research Collaboration

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From second to left and then right: Douglas Rhoads, Sam Dridi and Adnan Alrubaye with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Office de l'Elevage et des Paturage, Direction de l'amelioration Genetique.

Three University of Arkansas faculty members from the Graduate School and International Education's cell and molecular biology graduate program, Bumpers College, and the U of A System Division of Agricuture recently traveled to Tunisia as part of an effort to recruit international graduate students to the university and expand research partnerships.

The group traveled to the north African country in August to visit Tunisian universities as part of this concerted effort and included:

• Adnan Alrubaye, assistant professor of poultry science and the associate director of Cell and Molecular Biology Program
• Douglas Rhoads, university professor of biological sciences and the director of the Cell and Molecular Biology graduate program
• Sami Dridi, professor of poultry science in the U of A System Division of Agriculture.

"We visited many Middle Eastern countries for recruiting to our Cell and Molecular Biology Program, but Dr. Dridi being a dual citizen of Tunisia and America allowed us to connect with many institutions in the country and open a door into more recruiting in the African continent," Alrubaye said. "I want to thank Drs. Dridi, Jemmali, and our Tunisian partners for helping us organize such a successful and productive visit to Tunisia. I am excited about all the opportunities and partnerships that will emerge from our visit and I look forward to welcoming Tunisian scientists and students to the University of Arkansas."

The trio visited the Mateur Higher School of Agriculture, the Research and Higher Education Institute, the National Veterinary Medicine School of Sidi Thabet, and the National Gene Bank of Tunisia, among other institutions. During visits, they presented to students about the U of A, and discussed potential research collaborations with faculty from the institutions.

"As Steve Jobs said great things are never done by one person, they are done by a team of people," Dridi said. "This collaboration between Tunisia and our University will be beneficial at several levels for the education-research-extension nexus."

"There are many opportunities for educational and research collaborations between Tunisia and Arkansas," Rhoads said. "This trip has allowed us to identify the key partners to move forward on new areas for training and recruitment that will benefit both Tunisia and the University of Arkansas."

Alrubaye noted the Cell and Molecular Biology Program is one of the largest doctoral programs on campus, with international students comprising a large portion of the program's enrollment.

"Our goal is to keep expanding international recruiting to the program," he said. "We know how to work with international students and are extremely responsive to their needs and questions during the application process. And students can write to us in their language — they can call me and send me emails in Arabic and I'll respond in Arabic."

For more information on the Cell and Molecular Biology Program, visit its website.