The new campus of the American University in Cairo is experiencing some growing pains as students and teachers complain of unfinished buildings and incomplete facilities. All this is to be expected as a major institution relocates its entire operation. A decade from now I anticipate a fully functioning university attracting Arab students from all over the Middle East. Unfortunately, American students may no longer attend.
The AUC was originally intended to provide Egyptians with an American education, but it has since enhanced its mission to provide American students with an Egyptian experience. Indeed, most American students study abroad in Egypt to improve their Arabic by immersing themselves in the culture. But by moving an hour away from the city center to a desolate new suburb, the AUC no longer affords students that possibility. Many of my friends studying there are recommending that their home institutions no longer encourage their students to spend their junior year abroad at the campus. Current students are urging the AUC to return at least their Arabic language programs to downtown Cairo, which is a possibility given that the AUC still maintains its campus there. The AUC would do well to follow this advice.