Students will have a chance to learn about women in the Middle East. 

Guest Kerry Laufer of Dartmouth University will meet with various groups and hold a discussion Wednesday and Thursday.

Laufer lived and worked in Saudi Arabia from 1999 to 2007, where she was part of a team that began Effat University, a women’s university inspired by the U.S. tradition of liberal arts.

Laufer said the biggest thing she learned by living in Saudi Arabia for eight years was humility. She said she learned that Saudi Arabians recognize that there are many different ways to live their lives, and she has as much to learn as she does to teach.

“I believe so strongly in women’s education because it’s such a critical and proven area of empowerment for women, and because despite some great progress made, there are still just too many examples today of discrimination women around the world suffer in this area,” Laufer said.

Morningstar Stevenson, an Intensive English Program instructor, asked the QEP, Quality Enhancement Plan, to bring Laufer to campus. Stevenson said in her request “some American students may have certain assumptions of Saudi Arabians based on America’s reliance on its oil and the media’s focus on the restrictions on driving for its women.”

“Beyond that, there is also a need to understand what it is like to grow up in a society with rules dictated by the centrality of Islam.”

According to Laufer’s biography, she completed these tasks as vice dean for institutional development and quality control:

• The first undergraduate degree programs in engineering and architecture for women in Saudi Arabia
• An undergraduate business administration curriculum targeting the needs and interests of the Saudi market
• Executive leadership and job training programs for women
• An international learning and technology symposium

Laufer will be a guest speaker in four different classes while she is here: a religion class, a sociology class, an English class and an energy and society class.

On Wednesday, Laufer will have lunch with student leaders from the TCU Better Together group, which is an interfaith group on campus.

The IEP portion of Laufer’s visit will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Sid W. Richardson lecture hall four.

A Middle Eastern meal will be provided by the International Student Services office. Following the meal, Laufer will briefly talk before showing the film Wadjda.

Wadjda is about a young girl who lives in Saudi Arabia.

“With its insights into educational, economic, and social issues facing women in Saudi Arabia, this film is likely to spark conversation and inquiry into the changes occurring in the Middle East today,” said Britt Luby, IEP coordinator.

Following the film viewings, Laufer will hold a Q&A for the audience. Luby said she hopes the film and the conversation with Laufer will help the community better understand women’s issues pertaining to education in the Middle East.

Laufer’s last day on campus will be Thursday. She will have lunch with the IEP Women’s Club.

“We have several Saudi Arabian women in the group, and this will be a great chance for our students to talk with Ms. Laufer about her work in Saudi Arabia,” Luby said.

Stevenson said she is excited for students to engage with Laufer and have a greater understanding of life in Saudi Arabia, especially for women.

“Conversations on the critical topic of women’s education in Saudi Arabia led by an American expert on higher education and development, Kerry Laufer, will develop cultural empathy and intercultural competence for students at TCU,” Stevenson wrote in her request.

Laufer said she hopes her visit as well as the film will generate conversations that challenge the stereotypes of women’s education in Saudi Arabia.