Georgetown administrators began a series of information sessions yesterday to recruit faculty members to teach at the School of Foreign Service’s new campus in Qatar.

Josh Mitchell, former chair of the government department and current government professor at the Qatar campus, headed the meeting in the SFS library in ICC – the first of several sessions designed to inform faculty about Qatar teaching positions.

“We’re on kind of a recruitment trip,” itchell said. “We’re here to tell you a bit about what’s going on out there and hopefully solicit some interest.”

Mitchell said he hoped the session would give faculty a basic understanding of “how to live” at the Qatar campus. Six Georgetown faculty members currently teach in Doha under a one-year contract.

He also said that although “a number of people are probably going to renew,” there is a demand for new teachers.

Qatar administrators are “looking for adventurous faculty with a sense of [Georgetown’s] historical mission,” itchell said.

He noted that although many main campus professors have expressed interest in teaching in Qatar, no official action has been taken yet to establish a new group of faculty for the 2006-07 academic year.

“We have learned to take things one day at a time,” itchell said.

Other Qatar faculty attended, including SFS-Q Dean James Reardon-Anderson, Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs Fr. Ryan aher, S.J., Chinese studies professor Sun Yat-sen and economics professor Ibrahim M. Oweiss

Mitchell and the other Qatar faculty members spoke highly of the students at the SFS-Q.

“There is a simplicity to them,” Maher said. “They’re not afraid to make mistakes.”

Other professors said the curricular and extracurricular features of the Qatar campus are similar to main campus.

Mitchell admitted that he had initial reservations about the quality of the first freshmen class, because university officials had only a few months to recruit and prepare the new students before classes began in early August. He said, however, that he has been impressed by their abilities, noting only a few problems with writing proficiency in English.

“This group of freshmen is able to articulate ideas in class far better than any other students I’ve had at Georgetown,” said Mitchell.

Oweiss, who returned from retirement to teach in Qatar and plans to stay through the end of this academic year, also praised the students and facilities at the SFS-Q campus.

“It is a very healthy environment,” he said. “You find a lot of congeniality there … between and amongst faculty, between and amongst students.”