Summer Student Program Graduation!

August 13, 2016- On a bright and sunny August day, students of the 5-week intensive Summer Student Program participated in the final step of the program: Graduation. Hosted by Dr. Tanveer and Dr. Yaqub Mirza, the graduation ceremony brought to culmination over a month of classes, workshops, presentations, papers and more. The graduating class was composed of 18 members, from places like University of Indiana, Vanderbilt, Syracuse, Columbia, University of Santa Barbara, and more. Students were joined by alumni and a network of IIIT scholars in the last week of the program, convening in the Summer Institute of Scholars. This gathering brought together scholars and researchers to discuss scholarly work under the theme of "Islam and Modernity."

The Graduation Master of Ceremonies was the Director of The Fairfax Institute, Dr. Ermin Sinanovic, with award presentations by IIIT Executive Director, Dr. Abubaker Al-Shingieti, and IIIT President Dr. Hisham AlTalib. 

Special Guest Dr. Tracy Fitzsimmons, President of Shenandoah University, provided a keynote speech about the importance of an authentic education. The class speaker was Muhammad Rahman, a Fulbright Scholar completing his Ph.D. in International Studies at Old Dominion University.  

The recipients of the prestigious IIIT Fellowship award were Brian Wright, Aysenur Sonmez Kara, and Muhammad Rahman.

The celebration included lunch and picnic.