Texas A&M, founded in 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, had as its mission to serve the people of Texas by providing education, research and service as the state’s land-grant University. That year, Texas AMC and its six faculty members enrolled 40 agriculture and engineering students, who became the first ever class of Texas Aggies.
That legacy lives on today. Although the University has grown significantly and seen many changes since its first year, Texas A&M maintains high standards for excellence in classrooms, research labs and the lives of the Texans it serves. Texas A&M is now one of the largest research universities in the nation. It is one of the few institutions to have the triple designation of being a land-, sea- and space-grant university, and Aggieland is known far and wide as one of the friendliest, most spirited places anywhere.
Indeed, as a proud Aggie, Class of 1978, I can attest that Texas A&M is unique in many ways. But there is something else that sets Texas A&M apart – another Aggie feat we can be proud of. Texas A&M is one of a handful of elite American universities invited to establish a campus in the tiny, energy-rich emirate of Qatar.
In 2003, Texas A&M partnered with Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development to offer engineering programs in Education City, a 2,600-acre campus on the outskirts of the nation’s capital of Doha. In the fall of that year, the campus opened – with 29 students and a half dozen faculty – to begin offering undergraduate degree programs in chemical, electrical, mechanical and petroleum engineering. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Texas A&M at Qatar, just like the main campus in Texas, has enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence. This semester concludes our sixth year in Qatar, and we have more than 350 students from 32 nations. We have more than 200 faculty and staff and next month, we will present 18 Aggie rings and award the 100th Texas A&M diploma in Qatar. The Aggies in Doha meet the same admission standards as if they were applying to College Station and they take the same engineering curricula as their counterparts in the Dwight Look College of Engineering. The Doha Aggies even have to take Political Science 207! Texas A&M at Qatar has carved out a slice of Aggieland more than 8,000 miles from College Station. There is no doubt that Aggie spirit thrives here.
Our presence in Qatar is strengthened by our partnerships with other universities in Education City, which now houses branch campuses for Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Georgetown, Northwestern and Virginia Commonwealth universities in addition to Texas A&M. These schools and the programs they offer are defining a new standard for education in this region.
The University’s role in Qatar goes beyond education. Texas A&M at Qatar is also “developing leaders of character dedicated to serving the greater good.” The international relationships being forged here are as important as any classroom learning, and our faculty and staff are committed to sharing not only knowledge, but also understanding.
Our mission is also to conduct research that has a positive impact on Qatar and the region, and we strive to serve the Gulf through outreach to government, industry and the community. Our faculty has received more than $20 million in research funding and they have collaborations with leading institutions from around the world. In addition, TAMUQ is a vital part of the technical community in Qatar with partners that include ExxonMobil, Shell, British Petroleum, Qatar Petroleum, QatarGas, Qatar Telecommunications and others. Their activities complement those of Qatar Foundation and our Education City partners. Educators who come here strive not only to enhance education, but also to advance the pursuit of knowledge and to develop a community based on that commodity.
Texas A&M is carrying out the University’s three-part mission in Qatar – fervently and enthusiastically educating young people, conducting cutting-edge research and fostering outreach to people who benefit from these endeavors. Through that work, Texas A&M at Qatar is contributing to the University’s mission in Texas: expanding knowledge while cultivating the kinds of international relationships and understanding that transcend culture, religion and creed. In short, Texas A&M at Qatar – its faculty, staff and students – are engineering a world of difference.
In my view, that pursuit is unique and worth writing home about. And so I do.