By Jennifer Kiilerich
From July 27-31, Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development welcomed Staff Excellence Fellows (SEF) from the American University of Iraq-Baghdad's new Center for the Advancement of Higher Education in Iraq (CAHEI). The visit was an inflection point in the collaboration between Peabody and AUIB as the institutions work to improve higher education and build a stronger teacher workforce in Iraq. The visiting professionals discussed sustainable approaches to education and prepared for the next phase of growth for the Iraq National Education Strategy.
"We were honored to host our colleagues from AUIB this summer," said Emily House, SEF co-lead and lecturer, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations. "This visit was a wonderful opportunity to connect in person, strengthening relationships not only among colleagues, but also between AUIB and Vanderbilt, and Iraq and the United States."
"We hope the fellows will return home with a clear sense of objectives and a toolkit of learner-centered educational strategies that are informed by their own experiences and communities," shared Kristen Tompkins, SEF lead and senior lecturer, Department of Human and Organizational Development.
Xiu Cravens, professor of the practice of leadership, policy, and organizations, and Nancy Dickson, EdD'19, assistant dean, Peabody Global Initiatives, are principal investigators for the U.S. Department of State grants ($2.5M in 2022 and $2.1M in 2024) that have made this work possible. Since its inception, the initiative has:
- Launched a college of education and human development at AUIB
- Established the Center for the Advancement of Higher Education in Iraq
- Designed undergraduate and master's programs in education and human development
- Brought education professionals together to collaborate and expand their knowledge
Ongoing coordination with Peabody leaders will support the progress of these AUIB programs. The immersive week in Nashville included job shadowing, workshops with Peabody faculty, and visits to Nashville sites like Tennessee State University, the Entrepreneur Center and the Country Music Hall of Fame's Taylor Swift Education Center.
Other highlights included a lunch and conversation with Camilla Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development, in which the group considered student-centered and practice-driven higher education approaches, and a talk with Professor Ellen Goldring about the balance of structured and trust-focused leadership styles. Goldring serves as distinguished research dean, Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor and professor of educational leadership and policy.
Xiu Cravens, PhD'08, and Balkis Boum, MEd'23, a project manager for the initiative, led a session that explored the use of skills and hands-on learning as an alternative to traditional lectures. CAHEI Fellow Anita Arshagian, executive assistant, coordinator and translator at AUIB, said that the workshop "challenged the way I think about teaching and training, reminding me that real learning happens when participants are actively engaged and empowered to contribute."
CAHEI Fellow Rasha Ibrahim is an AUIB executive assistant with a background in humanitarian logistics and engineering. "We left not only with new skills but also with a commitment to implement meaningful change within our institutions," she shared, "and to support one another as a growing community of educational leaders."
The CAHEI fellows consist of 11 distinguished higher education professionals spanning administrative, student services and faculty roles. The CAHEI's mission is to provide tailored leadership and faculty development programs throughout Iraq focused on promoting governance, academic integrity and accessibility across higher education.
