On their first meeting of 2023, The Associated Students of the University of Wyoming (ASUW) passed Senate Bill #2845, an Endowment for the Creation of an Arabic & Middle East (ME) Studies Center on Campus. With funding approved, leaders in the Arabic and ME Studies program look forward to what the center will offer students.
Senate Bill #2845 commits $40,000 of funding for the building of an Arabic and ME Center to be housed within the Arts and Sciences building in what is now an abandoned lab room. As of now, no concrete timeline for renovation is in place.
Eric Nigh is the director of the Arabic & Middle Eastern Studies Program at UW. With his 20 years of experience in the Middle East/North African (MENA) region working in International Development, Nigh described the impact of cultural exchange in his life and his aim for the center.
“I grew up in Cheyenne, I knew very few minorities growing up–there’s not a lot of international exposure or heterogeneity in this state. My parents signed me up for some study abroad thing in high school. My life has changed. The world seemed so much bigger.”
Nigh moved back to Wyoming with his wife, an Iraqi woman, and their four children. He now has the opportunity to pass down wisdom gained from his experiences to his students.
“[The experience of working in the Middle East] helped me understand the world better, where my place is in the world better,” Nigh said.
Taking into account global perspectives while catering to individual students will be a priority for the center as Maeve Knepper, Student Engagement Coordinator for the ME & Arabic Studies program described.
Knepper is credited with leading the force for creating the proposed center, which has been in talks for at least a year. As a senior double majoring in economics and international studies, she already has many prestigious U.S. State Department study abroad and global internships under her belt.
Knepper has very specific ideas about how this center will serve students and bring together an entire community on the UW campus.
“We envision using that space for outreach as well[as]offering community resources, student resources. We’ve talked about the cultural packages faculty could potentially check out for their classrooms.”
“This office is small,” added America Martinez Carrillo, a junior in International studies and Family and Consumer Sciences, who serves as Communication Liaison for the MENA Club on campus.
“We have a lot of staff. For whatever reason, maybe because we’re so awesome, and really fun, a lot of people come through that door every day. It’s a hangout spot. I mean, we don’t mind it, but it can just get really, really hectic here with a lot of people and lots of moving parts.”
Both Knepper and Carrillo hope the center will allow greater capacity for an already established community hub to grow and expand, and maybe even give their interns some desk space.
“Students should not only look forward to a space in Arabic & Middle East studies in Arts and Sciences, but also a place to engage with their Middle Eastern North African culture.” Knepper said.
“My family is Mexican.” said Carrillo, “Hispanic culture and Arab culture sometimes have a lot of similarities. Linguistically, there are words that are very similar. Culturally, there are things in the hospitality that’s very similar to big family sizes, that sort of family mentality as well, it’s very similar.”
“There were experiences where I was the only person of color in a room. So I always wanted to sort of help other people or connect with other people.”
Supported by ASUW, Department Head Dr. Stephanie Anderson, and Dean of Arts and Sciences Scott Turpin, this project promises to make a significant impact on students of the MENA religion, and those who have developed a profound passion for a language and culture different, or not so different, than their own.
