Abu Dhabi University leads on educational and electronic leadership

Dr. Webber presented two lectures to invited guests, ADU Board members and faculty on 'Educational Leadership' and on 'Establishing an International Electronic Research Journal.' He also consulted with HE Ali Bin Harmal Al Dhaheri, Chairman of the Executive Board Governors, regarding future links between the ADU and the University of Calgary.

"The primary advantage of having international guest speakers of such calibre is to keep ADU abreast of the latest trends and international practices in benchmark institutes," said Chancellor, Professor Dr. Reynold Macpherson. "The lectures Professor Webber provided will inform the content of programs under development and enable academic colleagues to develop research outlets. Such visits will play a major role in the educational development of ADU, help connect it with leading international universities through staff and student exchanges, and help the United Arab Emirates to improve further its higher education system."

Dr. Webber is a leading North American authority on the future directions for educational administration and management. In his lecture on educational leadership programs he summarized the current trends in the field in North America. The lecture highlighted the changing content of university educational administration programs, the licensure requirements for practicing education leaders, and the challenges and opportunities in the field. In his presentation on 'Establishing an International Electronic Research Journal', Dr. Webber addressed the subtleties of electronic publication and how it is transforming access to academic theory and research. He provided the audience with a framework for assessing the impact of electronic journals and detailed the process of founding an electronic journal.

"I was delighted at the turnout and the quality of the inquiries I encountered," said Dr. Webber. "It has been a great pleasure to share my thinking with the ADU Board members and Faculty. A number of shared interests emerged and there is a great deal of common ground for us to build a strong relationship. I look forward to re-visiting Abu Dhabi and the University in the near future, and perhaps to hosting visitors in Calgary. We also talked about student exchanges."

"ADU plans on hosting many more lectures by professors of international standing. Many of our Faculty have long-established relationships with colleagues in other countries, and we will be encouraging them to visit and to reciprocate," added Dr. Macpherson. "We were delighted to have Professor Webber visit our campus and make his two presentations. My colleagues here made it clear that they see ADU becoming a world-class university that addresses real-world and global issues, and that high profile guests and exchanges are part of the ongoing process of refreshing our curriculum."