Faculty Development Initiatives Conflict and Post-Conflict Settings: West Bank and Liberia

What is the role of higher education in the midst and the aftermath of civil wars? When a majority of the most talented leave the country or are killed, or are denied access by closing borders, what is the impact on the next generation? With limited resources, is it possible to make long-term changes? These are some questions that guided my involvement, with Gene Rice, in two initiatives that focused on the role of higher education and specifically faculty development (also known as capacity building) as a sustainable intervention strategy. They took place in the West Bank and in Monrovia, Liberia.

With no doctorate-level and only a few masters-level programs in any of the dozen Palestinian universities throughout the territories, and with the closure of the borders in Gaza last year, options for access to higher education is in crisis. The leadership of Amideast, funded by USAID and the Open Society Institute, is trying to address some of this by a multi-year investment in a Palestinian Faculty Development Program. This summer they convened faculty from eleven Palestinian universities for an academic colloquia on A Vision of Teaching Excellence, followed the next week by our workshop on Cultivating a Collaborative Culture.

The second and more elaborate project was created by a partnership between the Association of American State Colleges and Universities and the University of Liberia, funded by the "Friends of Liberia." Our primary task is to help the education and government leaders develop a viable higher education system for Liberia, post-civil war. This would include the creation of three "middle colleges" to be located in rural areas of the country.

We also conducted a pilot faculty development program that, if successful, will become the foundation of a National Faculty Development Institute. The Institute is likely to be housed on the University of Liberia campus but open to faculty of all colleges, public and private.

There are a number of similar challenges facing these two countries. The growth of the student bodies is staggering. In Palestine, for example, there are approximately 130,000 students with a projection of 225,000 in 2018. The challenge of access and quality places faculty responsible for coping with these often competing tensions. With few economic resources, they are investing in human capital. This will require faculty to become and stay current with research and scholarship in their respective disciplines. Few faculty, currently, have advanced degrees. Both countries need technological infrastructures to provide access within and outside their countries.

While the evidence of trauma is palpable, the stories in Palestine are filled with themes of humiliation, sadness and anger, and a majority of the faculty, staff and students in Liberia are survivors who have witnessed atrocities. We were surprised at the resiliency present in both groups and the level of hope and optimism they maintain.

The faculty response was consistent: continue providing faculty development programs and help create structures for faculty to obtain advanced degrees and access to scholars in their fields.