September 1st will mark the beginning of the Fall Semester of the Academic Year 2008/2009 at The American University in Dubai. AUD will host the 2008 Orientation program, 'Week Of Welcome' (WOW) for all new students, an expected total number exceeding 800, to better pave the way for their academic success and promote vital student involvement in the total university experience.

According to Mr. Elias Bou Saab, the Executive Vice President of AUD, the University has also hired 29 new faculty members, from the world’s most prestigious universities, to join its current faculty body. He added that a new group of distinctive students has enrolled at the University’s scholarship program generously offered by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The scholarship program is open to distinguished local and expatriate students who meet the University’s admissions requirements.

Furthermore, The New Student Center will be inaugurated at AUD at the start of this academic year to accommodate the mounting numbers of the University’s student body and its growing demands. The Center comprises classrooms, offices, sports facilities, a food court, and restaurants, as well as shops offering a wide range of services and amenities.

In addition, the check-in date for student dorm residents is on Thursday, August 28, 2008. It is worth mentioning that The Student Services Office at AUD will carry out the Orientation program WOW, which starts on Sunday, August 31st 2008, in which current students will act as Orientation Leaders to new student comers to better help them cope with the university atmosphere at large.

Dr. Lance de Masi, AUD’s President, and Dr. Jihad Nader, Provost and Chief Academic Officer, will both meet with the new students and their parents, during the Orientation session. They will attend to the queries posed by the students and parents and elaborate on the challenges that are entailed within the university life.

The Orientation program will come to an end with a fun atmosphere at The Dubai Bowling Center in which new students will mingle with their Orientation Leaders before classes commence on the following day, Monday September 1st 2008.