Announcing Ahmad S. Dallal, Ph.D., as Dean of GU-Q

Dear Members of the Georgetown University Community:

It is with great pleasure that I write to share that Ahmad S. Dallal, Ph.D., has been named Dean of the School of Foreign Service and Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q).  He will begin in this new role on September 1, 2017.

Dr. Dallal currently serves as a Professor of History at American University in Beirut (AUB), where he also served as Provost from 2009-2015.  Prior to his time at AUB, he was a member of our University community, serving as an Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies and Chair of our Arabic and Islamic Studies Department. 

A recognized scholar, Dr. Dallal is known for his research in the history of the disciplines of learning in Muslim societies, including the history of the exact sciences, and early modern and modern Islamic thought and movements.  He is the author of three books—in addition to an edited volume and a forthcoming book in Spring 2018—over 40 articles, and numerous essays, papers, and presentations—many of which focus on the history of science, Islamic revivalist thought, and Islamic law—and he is sought after for his insights on the background and aftermath of September 11, 2001.  Dr. Dallal is the recipient of many awards, including the Kuwait Prize from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, and the Yale University Dwight Terry Lectureship for his work on science and religion in Islam; he was named a Carnegie Scholar for this work, and received a Fellowship on Traditions of Reform in Eighteenth-Century Islamic Thought from the National Endowment for the Humanities.  He has also served as a board member for a variety of institutions and as an advisor to the planning committee of the primary exhibition at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City.

Prior to his service at Georgetown from 2003-2009, Dr. Dallal taught at Stanford University, Yale University, and Smith College.  He holds a M.A., a M.Phil., and a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the Department of Middle East Languages and Cultures at Columbia University, as well as a B.E. from the American University of Beirut in Mechanical Engineering.

I am deeply grateful to James Reardon-Anderson, Ph.D. for his dedicated service as Dean of GU-Q over the last year, and for his ongoing leadership in our community.  We look forward to welcoming him to the faculty in Doha as the Sun Yat-sen Professor of Chinese Studies when he concludes his service as Dean.  I also wish to offer my appreciation to Daniel Byman, Ph.D., Professor in the Security Studies Program and Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs in the Walsh School of Foreign Service, and each member on the Committee, for their committed efforts in conducting this search.

Please join me in expressing gratitude to Dr. Dallal as we welcome him back to our University community.

You have my very best wishes.

Sincerely,

John J. DeGioia