AU may help establish an American-style university in Nigeria, an undertaking approved by the Board of Trustees Friday that could determine how AU fulfills its goal of becoming a global university.
University President Benjamin Ladner will meet with Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar Thursday to decide the general terms of agreement, according to Bob Pastor, vice president of international affairs. If decisions are made, a five-year agreement will be drawn up to help the university to develop over time, said Trustee Pete Smith.
"It's part of the global university concept, part of the AU culture," Smith said in an interview. "We look at the emphasis to serve, a social responsibility."
The opportunity presented itself when Abubakar's wife, School of International Ph.D. student and principle proprietor of the proposed university Jennifer Abubakar approached AU.
AU has relationships with hundreds of universities, but ABTI - American University of Nigeria would be the second relationship in which AU played a critical role in advising the establishment of the university, Pastor said.
"This is mission-driven and culturally driven," Smith said. "If we break even it's good, but it's not a money-making venture."
If ABTI is established and all goes well, it may determine the role AU plays in establishing other universities in the future, Pastor said. A slightly different model is being proposed than that used for establishing the American University of Sharjah in 1997.
"It's premature to see where it's going to lead, but it could be an important turning point," Pastor said of ABTI.
"One of the reasons that President Ladner hired me in the first place was to help him design a formula to respond to literally hundreds of requests he was getting to establish American-style universities," Pastor said.
Like the study abroad programs that will open this spring at AU Sharjah, if the University agrees to help create ABTI those same opportunities may present itself in the future, Pastor said.
"We see [ABTI] as one more element of internationalizing this university and providing opportunities for our students that other universities simply don't have," Pastor said."
In May, a committee comprised of top University administrators and faculty members traveled to Nigeria, skeptical that establishing a university would be in AU's best interest. Among their concerns was the country's history of instability and corruption as well as ethnic and religious violence, Pastor said. Upon their return to the United States, however, they unanimously recommended that AU proceed.
"The new leaders [of Nigeria] had a clear vision of the importance of education," Pastor said of the trip.
