First-ever Christian-Arab Israeli university to open

After four years of planning and negotiations, Fr Elias Chacour, President of Mar Elias Educational Institutions and his team, announced the opening of Mar Elias University in Galilee this week. The university has been granted official accreditation by the Council of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education of the State of Israel. Three years ago the project was accredited by the American North Central Association of Colleges and Schools as a branch campus of the University of Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Mar Elias University (MEUC) will be the first ever Christian Arab Israeli university in the region and will meet a vital need for a serious academic environment where Arab Palestinian Christian, Moslem and Druze Israelis and Jewish Israelis will have the opportunity, together with students from the Middle East regions, to study, plan and search together for a common future. International students will also be welcomed and exchange programs encouraged. Seven professors and 64 holders of PhDs have been recruited for the faculty and MEUC is now actively seeking the cooperation of an Israeli university to be a local companion and mentor. Initially MEUC will offer first degrees comprising three years of study in: BSc majoring in Computing Science, BSc majoring in Chemistry with a minor in Biology, BA majoring in Communications with a Marketing minor. MEUC graduates will have the option of continuing at Master's level at MEUC or at an institution in Israel, USA or other international universities. A further six fields of study will be added in the near future. Courses will be taught primarily in English with some courses offered in the Arabic or Hebrew languages. Intensive English courses will be made available. Scholarships will be offered based on academic excellence.