About The Middle East Studies Center at the Ohio State University
The Middle East Studies Center (MESC) is a US Department of Education Undergraduate Title VI National Resource Center (NRC). Since its designation as a National Resource Center in 1988, it has been consistently renewed in the 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, and 2005 cycles, for a total of 19 years.
Vision:
The principle reason for the establishment of the international and regional programs at the Ohio State University since the post World War II era has been to realize a bold vision of educating and training future leaders and experts so that they may better deal with the challenges of the 20th century followed by a new millenium. As one of the pioneering Title VI National Resource Centers, the Middle East Studies Center (MESC) at the Ohio State University continues to play a major role in the realization of the above stated vision by contributing to the enrichment of the intellectual environment at The Ohio State University and the U.S. The Center will continue to provide opportunities for our faculty, undergraduate and graduate students to pursue their academic objectives and contribute to the body of knowledge about the Middle East. The need for knowledge and understanding about other peoples and cultures has never been more pressing.
Mission and goals:
The
mission of the Center is to foster and generate knowledge of the Middle East, its past and current economic, social and political developments, and to
promote teaching, learning, research and public awareness of the diverse array
of Middle Eastern languages, cultures, and peoples. MESC helps OSU to make knowledge accessible to the citizens of Ohio in the realm of Middle East studies. The Center's continual goal of making
greater impact in the community also helps it to meet the priorities of
Title VI requirements.
Outreach and engagement, providing better student resources, and
facilitating multidisciplinary collaboration across the disciplines are all essential to the Center's mission.
The related goals are achieved through supporting language and area studies courses, workshops, conferences, interdisciplinary lectures, a speaker's bureau, cultural and artistic events, and numerous outreach activities, on and off campus. The Center draws on the expertise and experience of 50 faculty members from 23 departments and the library at OSU and its affiliate faculty in other Ohio and regional universities and colleges.
Strengthening the performance-based instruction of less commonly taught modern languages of the Horn of Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, and providing teacher training are the two highest priorities of the program at MESC. The Center helps to fund, or provides other forms of support for Arabic, Hebrew, Pashto, Persian, Somali, Turkish and Urdu instruction. In addition, the center is a member of the Eastern Consortium in Persian and Turkish in collaboration with Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, New York University, Georgetown, the University of Michigan, The Univeristy of Chicago, and the University of Minnesota. A major component of the MESC teacher training program is The Institute on Middle Eastern Cultures, a 6 graduate credit hour course offered through the College of Education's Outreach and Engagement Office.
List of other Title VI National Resource Centers, with links to contact information: http://www.outreachworld.org/searchcontacts.asp
The MESC Team:
Alam Payind, Director, CV- Bio
Contact: payind.1@osu.edu, 614-292-5897
Melinda Wightman, Assistant Director, CV - Bio
Contact: wightman.16@osu.edu, 614-292-5897
Cory Driver, Outreach Coordinator, CV - Bio
Contact: driver.27@osu.edu, 614-292-5897
Mary Beth Benecke, Administrative Associate
Contact: benecke.3@osu.edu, 614-292-5897
1712 Neil Ave, Columbus, Ohio 43210