Dr. Allan E. Goodman, President and CEO of the Institute of International Education, served as the keynote speaker for the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS) inaugural commencement exercises. AUIS conferred undergraduate degrees for the first time on June 16, 2012, on its new 418-acre campus.  

AUIS awarded baccalaureate degrees in business administration, information technology, and international studies to 37 students, including the university’s first cohort of ten students. An additional 37 students will receive the degree of Master of Business Administration.

AUIS was founded in 2006 by its chairman, Barham Salih, former Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, and several other prominent, forward-thinking local businessmen. 

Among IIE’s key initiatives are the Iraq Scholar Rescue Fund and the Iraq Scholars and Leaders Program, efforts which provide professors and students from Iraq with the means to work or study in the United States. In addition, IIE has helped convene a conference series focused on rebuilding the higher education system in Iraq and a higher education fair for Iraqi students interested in studying in the United States.

For more information, please visit: www.iie.org/en/Who-We-Are/News-and-Events/Press-Center/Press-Releases/2012/06-16-2012-IIE-President-Allan-Goodman-Commencement-Speaker-American-University-Of-Iraq-Sulaimani.