With great excitement and satisfaction in the acknowledgement that the intense work of many people over the last several months has led to this, the UPP began the academic year for a bright and eager cohort of students on Saturday, September 1, 2007. Starting an educational program from an entirely new beginning has been challenging but very rewarding. Matching the excitement of the students and their eagerness to get started is that of the faculty, a group of 27 native English speaking professionals from several countries (the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and the UK). The diverse mix of nationalities, high level of academic qualifications, and different specializations of the faculty provides a very rich instructional resource for the UPP. We are ideally prepared, as our mission statement claims, “to train students in a stimulating academic environment to become life-long learners, critical thinkers, and problem solvers able to succeed in institutions of higher learning.”

My sincere congratulations go to the families of our students and to the schools from which they have graduated. All our interactions with these young men indicate that their families have instilled in them values that will help them succeed in our program, and their schools have prepared them academically for the challenges ahead. While we expected them to be intelligent and bright (their high school GPAs, Qiyas scores, and TOEFL scores assured us of their abilities), we were pleasantly surprised to learn during the orientation that our students are brighter, more confident, and even more ready to begin our courses than we had expected. All of our teachers are absolutely delighted and eager to get into the classrooms and start teaching.

As we begin this academic year, on behalf of the UPP faculty and staff, I want to thank our partners who have played major roles in making this program a reality. Specifically, I want to thank HH Prince Bandar bin Saud bin Khaled Al-Saud, Managing Director of the King Faisal Foundation, for his leadership and support. I also want to thank the many administrators of the King Faisal Foundation for their cooperation and support. Without their help, we would not have been able to obtain visas for our teachers and the many other instructional resources we need to implement our program. I also wish to thank the administrators of Alfaisal University for helping us set goals and policies to guide our program. Their guidance, support, and cooperation in helping us prepare for this exciting and important endeavor have been invaluable. I would like to thank AMIDEAST for the many ways that they helped to make this project a reality. We are very proud to be affiliated with our partners and we are very pleased that we can call upon them when we need their assistance.

As I sit in my office with the sounds of teaching and learning going on around me, I am filled with a deep sense of satisfaction. I am indeed very proud of the accomplishments of the UPP. The program that we have put together and have begun to implement is the result of collaborative teamwork. Our administrative team, lead by Dr. Ala Al Bakri, Academic Dean, and Mr. Patrick Bauer, Administrative Dean, has worked tirelessly to prepare for our opening. They have done an amazing job in an unbelievably short period of time.

I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to many people, too many to be named individually in this message. I hope all who have been involved in helping us get started know that we are appreciative of their support and cooperation.

Pleased with our students, proud of our faculty, and delighted to be a part of this very special and unique program, I would like to encourage anyone who is interested in learning more about the UPP to get in touch with us.

Sincerely,

John R. Aydelott
UPP Director