BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – A group of nine faculty and staff from Illinois Wesleyan University recently traveled half way around the world to help establish ties with a university in Morocco. The participants were part of the Morocco Initiative, sent to the North African nation to explore possible collaborative projects, discuss research and meet with counterparts at Al Akhawayn University (AUI) in Ifrane, Morocco.
“We came to Morocco to learn, to experience and to share,” said Associate Dean of Curriculum Zahia Drici, who led the group of five faculty and two staff members along with International Office Director Stacey Shimizu. Those chosen for the Initiative were Academic Outreach Librarian and Associate Professor Lynda Duke, Environmental Studies Director and Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and International Studies Abigail Jahiel, Hispanic Studies Chair and Professor Carolyn Nadeau, Associate Professor of Economics Diego Mendez-Carbajo, Associate Professor of Economics Ilaria Ossella-Durbal, University of Communications Staff Writer Rachel Hatch and Career Consultant Robyn Walter.
Before leaving for their weeklong trip to Morocco in June, the group met throughout the spring semester and explored topics of research in a seminar format. Readings and discussions about Morocco included areas such as women’s role in contemporary society, the nation’s environmental challenges, cultural influences of Spain, public higher education and economic relations between the European Union and North Africa.
When in Morocco, the group scheduled several days of talks at AUI, and also set out to experience the people and culture of Morocco, making trips to historic areas of several cities. The group dined with Professor Saloua Zerhouni, who has applied to become a Fulbright scholar at Illinois Wesleyan this fall. A political science professor at Morocco’s largest university, Université Mohammad V – Souissi in the capitol city of Rabat, Zerhouni arranged meetings for the Illinois Wesleyan group with faculty and administrators at Mohammad V.
“This is how we build international bridges,” said Nadeau, who came to Morocco to study the influence that Moroccan Amazigh (or Berber) tribes played on today’s Spanish cuisine. Although she has studied extensively in Spain, Nadeau has never had the chance to cross the eight-mile stretch of water between Spain and Morocco. “I was able to walk through the markets, taste the food, talk with scholars about my research and visit with librarians at both the University of Fez and Al Akhawayn,” said Nadeau. “The physical connection to this part of history was overwhelming, in the good sense of the word.”