Annual Report 2010 | 2011 - Columbia Global Centers

Leadership
Professor Safwan M. Masri is the Director of the Columbia Global Centers | Middle East and Chair of the Columbia
Global Centers Director Group. In his role as Chair, Professor Masri helps to sustain and coordinate field-based
issues, and provide direction and guidance to the group of Global Center Directors. He also works closely with the
teams of each Global Center on matters of programming and content, and leads the effort to collaborate across
Centers and help identify and implement network-wide initiatives. Professor Masri joined the Columbia faculty
in 1988, and is a Professor at the Columbia Business School, where he served as Vice Dean from 1993 to 2005.
His academic expertise has focused on operations management, and much of his recent work has focused on
education and business development in the Middle East. Professor Masri earned both his Bachelor and his Master
of Science in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University, and his Ph.D. from Stanford University in Industrial
Engineering and Engineering Management. He is also Chairman of Queen Rania Teacher Academy (QRTA),
Founding Chairman Emeritus of King’s Academy, Trustee of International College, and Trustee of the National
Children’s Museum in Jordan, as well as serving on the boards of a number of NGOs.
Team
The Center currently employs 18 full-time professional staff to manage programs, enrich academic content, and
handle operational tasks. The staff is organized into several teams: the research team, which pursues academic
partnerships and research activities and administers the development of the Center’s various institutes; the programs
and administration team, which develops academic programs in partnership with Columbia University schools in
addition to managing internal operations, finances and human resources; the communications team, which leads
communications, media and outreach efforts and develops alumni relations; in addition to the operations team,
which handles logistics and event management. The Center also has an information technology office, as well as
additional support staff for administrative, logistical, and maintenance-related tasks.
Columbia Global Centers | Middle East Office Team (from left to right)
Mona Taji, Farrah Bdour, Safwan Masri, Juman Dairanieh, Muna Issa (1 st row)
Zakhariya Awwad, Lina Sharaan, Ruba Kalouti, Omar Al-Hmoud (2 nd row)
Salma Jaouni, Rita Salameh, Diala Dabbas, Aya Khairy (3 rd row)
Rawan Ibrahim, Hanya Salah, Nadine Kharoba, Hisham Rabadi, Samer Suboh (4 th row)
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