ACM News & Updates

September 10, 2023: ACM Stands with Morocco

Our community is saddened by the recent devastating earthquake in Morocco and the loss of so many lives. We have checked with our colleagues there and they are safe. While we will be leading classes in Morocco in January, we do not know of any of our students traveling in Morocco at this time. We continue to monitor the situation. Our thoughts go out to our colleagues and friends in Morocco.  

For those wishing to donate to a worthy related cause, there are two organizations with whom we are very familiar:

• ASSAFOU - An NGO that helped IAU organize student visits to the Agounssane Village in the Atlas Mountains. Assafou designed and partially funded a multi-year support strategy (Preschooling, Women entrepreneurship, and Sustainable energy use) in a dozen villages in the Marrakech region. Their banking information for donations is as follows:

  
  Name : Association Assafou Pour Le Développement
  Bank: AttijariWafa
  Domiciliation: Marrakech Gueliz, 213, BD Mohamed V, Tel: 044437060
  BIC-Code Swift: BCMAMAMC
  IBAN: MA64 OO7 450 0004881000000645 68 

• Banque Alimentaire is a non-profit/NGO food bank that accepts donated food and redistributes it to needy populations through a network of associations. They are led by Karim Tazi who is also the founder of the Cultural Center l'Uzine. IAU has organized regular visits to l'UZINE, especially with The Ohio State custom program students and faculty. The Food Bank is likely the most active NGO in the Aid delivery to the hardest hit part of the country. 

We understand how tragedies like this can impact our students, our friends, our families, and ourselves.  The American College of the Mediterranean (ACM) and The Institute for American Universities (IAU) encourage students to take advantage of any of the resources below as soon as needed.

Aix-en-Provence Resources: ACM Wellness Center:  iauwellness@iau.edu - Wellness resources via the student portal IAU Aix-en-Provence Emergency Number: 00 800 1957 1958

Barcelona Resources: Student Affairs Contact: barcelona@iau.edu  ACM Barcelona Emergency Number: +34 696 78 84 25

Madrid Resources: On-Site Director Contact: marisol.garcia@iau.edu  ACM Madrid Emergency Number: +34 68 191 06 99                        

February 9, 2023: ACM Updated to Affiliate Member of AMICAL Consortium

Dr. Yumna Masarwa, Dean of the American College of the Mediterranean School of Art announced the week that the ACM membership of the AMICAL Consortium has been updated from a Network Member to an Affiliate Member thanks to ACM's accreditation process.

AMICAL is an international consortium of 30 American-modeled institutions in 20 different countries. It is a cooperative organization for advancing learning, teaching and research through the collaborative development of library, technology and curricular resources at member institutions.

Visit the links to learn more about AMICAL and ACM's Membership.

April 29, 2022: Master of French Studies Graduate Awarded Fulbright Research Scholarship

ACM is delighted to announce that Michael Portal, ACM Master of French Studies 2018, has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright research scholarship. Portal, a Ph.D. candidate in Texas A&M University’s Department of Philosophy, will spend the 2022-2023 academic year conducting interdisciplinary research at the Universiteit Antwerpen. His research concerns the Flemish emphasis on samenleven (“living together”) and its significance for Antwerp’s Jewish communities. His research seeks to advance scholarship on community formation and cultural integration by asking, "What is it that unites these distinct Jewish communities?"  Portal will be a research fellow at Universiteit Antwerpen's Institute for Jewish Studies, the Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change, and the Urban Studies Institute. 

Michael Portal, c/o 2018
MAFS

March 28, 2022: ACM Prof. Aboubakr Jamai quoted in the New York Times 

Professor Aboubakr Jamai, Dean of ACM's School of Business & International Relations, was interviewed by the New York Times regarding Morocco and Israel relations. The article follows a visit by the Moroccan minister of foreign affairs to Israel on Sunday, with hope that a closer relationship will bolster trade and attract investment and tourism to Morocco. Prof. Jamai sees Morocco’s decision to deepen ties with Israel as aimed at strengthening its relationship with the United States and blunting criticism over human rights abuses that stem from the Israeli Palestinian conflict. 

Please see the full NYT's article for more details.

March 7, 2022: ACM leadership and alumna petition Biden Administration to support Tunisia's democracy

A cohort comprised of an ACM faculty member, alumna and board member have partnered with POMED (Project on Middle East Democracy) to submit a letter to President Biden in support of Tunisia's democracy. The group was able to secure a diverse group of 50 experts, including former U.S. ambassadors and other senior U.S. government officials, a former member of Congress, and prominent Middle East analysts to sign onto the letter. It is their hope it will play a positive role in influencing the administration's policy on Tunisia going forward.

ACM Dean Aboubakr Jamai, Board Member Former Ambassador Kurt Volker and ACM alumna Miri Taylor were active participants in this endeavor. Dean Jamai is a 2016 POMED honorary for his work in journalism in Morocco and Ms. Taylor is currently working for this non-profit. ACM BOT member Volker signed the petition as well. 

Founded in 2006, the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Washington, D.C. dedicated to examining how genuine democracies can develop in the Middle East and how the United States can best support that process. Through dialogue, research, and advocacy, POMED works to strengthen the constituency for U.S. policies that peacefully support democratic reform in the Middle East.

Please follow the link to read the full letter to Biden with the signatories.

November 18, 2021: ACM has been granted candidate for accreditation status by NECHE

We are extremely proud that following their meeting on November 18, 2020, The American College of the Mediterranean (ACM) has been granted candidate for accreditation status by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). Candidacy is not accreditation nor does it assure eventual accreditation. Candidacy is a formal affiliation with the New England Commission of Higher Education. It indicates that the institution has achieved initial recognition and is progressing toward accreditation. 

Inquiries regarding an institution’s affiliation status with the Commission should be directed to:
The New England Commission of Higher Education
3 Burlington Woods Drive, Suite 100
Burlington, MA 01803

U.S.A. Direct line to Commission offices: (781) 425-7785
E-mail: info@neche.org 
Website: www.neche.org

ACM Accreditation Process Update 

The ACM self-study report is now available to view at this link.

The New England Commission of Higher Education has determined that the American College of the Mediterranean is eligible to proceed with an application for candidacy for accreditation within two years. A determination of eligibility is not candidacy or accreditation, nor does it indicate a likelihood of eventual accreditation. Questions about eligibility and the accreditation process should be directed to the President of the Commission. 

The American College of the Mediterranean will undergo a comprehensive evaluation visit April 18-21, 2021 for candidacy, by a team representing the New England Commission of Higher Education (formerly the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, NEASC). 

The New England Commission of Higher Education is one of seven accrediting commissions in the United States that provide institutional accreditation on a regional basis. 

Accreditation is voluntary and applies to the institution as a whole. The Commission, which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, accredits approximately 220 institutions in the six-state New England region as well as several American-style institutions overseas.

For the past year and a half, the American College of the Mediterranean has been engaged in a process of self-study, addressing the Commission’s Standards for Accreditation. An evaluation team will visit the institution to gather evidence that the self-study is thorough and accurate. The team will recommend to the Commission a continuing status for the institution. Following a review process, the Commission itself will take the final action. 

The public is invited to submit comments regarding the institution to: Public Comment on the American College of the Mediterranean, New England Commission of Higher Education 3 Burlington Woods Drive, Suite 100 Burlington, MA 01803-4514 E-mail: info@neche.org Public Comments must address substantive matters related to the quality of the institution.  

The Commission cannot settle disputes between individuals and institutions, whether those involve faculty, students, administrators, or members of other groups. Comments will not be treated as confidential and must include the name, address, and telephone number of the person providing the comments. Public Comments must be received by April 21, 2021. The Commission cannot guarantee that comments received after that date will be considered.

February 8, 2021: Webinar with IAU-ACM Dean Aboubakr Jamai with CAREP Paris

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JANUARY 19, 2021: IAU-ACM's Dean Aboubakr Jamai Quoted in Le Monde Article