By Lucia Allen
Following the September 11 attacks, there was a decline in the number of Arab and other Middle Eastern students studying in the United States, according to the Institute of International Education. But in recent years, Northeastern has seen a significant increase in their enrollment, school officials said.
“We look at regions in the world in our recruitment. We want to build interest in students toward Northeastern at an international perspective,” said David Hautanen, director of undergraduate admissions and recruitment.
Though the number of students from Iraq studying at Northeastern has decreased in the last 10 years, the number of students from Arab and Middle Eastern countries has increased by about 24 percent in the last two years, said Scott Quint, assistant dean and director of the International Student ‘ Scholar Institute (ISSI) and co-Interim Dean of Academic and Cultural Enrichment services.
There has been a 70 percent total increase in the number of international students studying at Northeastern, Hautanen said.
Hautanen said the admission’s office has made it a priority to increase the global pool at Northeastern and admission recruitment is subsequently directed to more than 50 countries.
“We work with a number of partners, like Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation, to sponsor students to study in the US,” Hautanen said.
Admissions also works with Saudi Aramco, an oil company that encourages and sponsors students to study in the United States.
The increase of international students is thanks to admissions along with other offices.
ISSI hosts conferences like PEACE, a dialogue encouraging 16 to 20 students from various backgrounds to ask questions and engage in cultural exchange, Quint said.
“For 16 students, introductions took almost three hours. I think it was a relief for many students. Many of them just wanted to share their different experiences and backgrounds,” Quint said.
Recently ISSI met with 11 deans from colleges in Iraq from the US State Department, Quint said. Northeastern officials also have met with the US Education Offices in Arab and Middle Eastern countries, Hautanen said.
“Part of what we do in going to these countries is
