Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad

Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad a leading Qatari educator for nearly three decades, has occupied numerous and prestigious positions in teaching, administration, and research, assuming the presidency of Qatar University in 2003. Prior to that date, she served Qatar University as Vice President for Research and Community Development (2000–2003), Head of the Department of Foundations of Education (1992–1995), and as a member of the University Council (1986–1989; 1998–2004).

Background

Professor Al-Misnad received her undergraduate training at Qatar University where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Education (1977), and subsequently a diploma in Education in 1978. She then enrolled in doctoral studies at Durham University in the United Kingdom, where she was granted the title of Doctor of Philosophy in Education in 1984.

Research

Professor Al-Misnad became active in research pertaining to education in the Persian Gulf area in general, and education pertaining to women in particular during her graduate studies at the University of Durham. Her doctoral dissertation on “The Development of Modern Education in the Gulf States with Special Reference to Women's Education” was subsequently published by Ithaca Press (London) in 1985. Despite her administrative duties and community involvement, Professor Al-Misnad has written more than 50 articles published in professional journals and presented at leading conferences and seminars.

Activities: Local

Qatar has witnessed an educational renaissance movement within the past decade, where the strategic goal of the nation has been to apply national reform to its entire educational system. Professor Al-Misnad was commissioned in 2003 to lead a massive reform project to transform Qatar University into a leading regional institution of higher education. Major academic reforms have already been initiated in the areas of curricula, programs, and structure.

Professort Al-Misnad's involvement in educational reform is not limited to her duties at Qatar University. For many years, she has played a key role in the reform of primary, secondary, and private education in Qatar. As a member of the Board of Directors of Qatar Foundation for Education Science and Community Development since 1999, she has been instrumental in the governance and leadership of the educational institutions comprising Education City, foremost among which are Qatar Academy and The Learning Center. As an ex officio member of the Board of Governors of both institutions, she has seen Qatar Academy flourish into an accredited international school enrolling nearly 800 students from the pre-school to secondary school levels. The Learning Center was established as an educationally conducive environment that provides an option to average or above-average students with learning difficulties.

The reform of publicly funded education in Qatar has been entrusted to the Supreme Education Council (formed in 2002). This ambitious and massive reform project aims to establish progressive and modern independent schools that are privately operated but publicly funded. Professor Al-Misnad is considered one of the most active members of the Supreme Education Council overseeing this project.

Activities: International

At the international level, Professor Al-Misnad is a member of several prestigious bodies and delegations. For example, she was a contributing member of the Steering Committee of the Symposium at the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education Applicability to the Arab States of the Persian Gulf, held in Doha on December 5–7, 1999. Since June 2004, she has been a selected member of the United Nations University Council (UNU). Professor Al-Misnad’s long and illustrious record in education has gained her a wide and esteemed reputation not only in Qatar,

but also in the Persian Gulf region and international arenas. She was recently awarded an honorary doctorate in Civil Law by Durham University in recognition of her "Outstanding achievements in the field of education" in January 2008.

Controversy

In her speech to Dalhousie University in 2013 Dr Sheikha expressed how she had to ask a thousand Qatari student to leave the university within the first year of taking up her position as a president of Qatar University and laughing about it. The statement and behavior have created a huge controversy and public outrage among the Qatari community. http://dohanews.co/tag/sheikha-al-misnad/ http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/index.php/views/letters-to-the-editor/262510/dr-sheikha-al-misnad-has-got-it-wrong